by

Michael Barleycorn

OLIVER PRESS
WILLITS, CALIFORNIA
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
NEW YORK
 Library of Congress Card Number 75-7452
ISBN 0-914400-12-6

Copyright © 1975 by Oliver Press

Willits, California. All Rights Reserved.
Manufactured in the United States of America.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form

or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, with-
out permission in writing from OLIVER PRESS.'.

ARTIST - DOUG MORAN

First Printing April 1975

OLIVER PRESS
1400 Ryan Creek Road
Willits, California 95490
Distributed by
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
New York, New York 10012

_
 AUTHOR'S NOTE

The sole intention of this book is to preserve a

dying art. An American tradition from 1776 to
1976. A sacred technology of civilized man traced
back as far as recorded history. A rapidly fading
folklore, waning in the automated, mass-produced
world of today.
The art of moonshining has been passed down
throughout the centuries by word of mouth and
apprenticeship.
This book is the final results of information
gathered from scores of men and women across
the continent. Saints and sinners alike who made,
transported, drank, or busted the infamous moon-
shine.
The mountains of notes and tapes were orga-
nized and carefully researched. The information on
them was tried and tested and condensed into a
peoples book, "MOONSHINERS MANUAL".
 FOR SAM

A special thanks to the many

nameless moonshiners of
North America, and DAVE
HAYES and DON SAMSON,

AND
DICK
DAVE
MIKE
KEITH
KENNY
DENISE
RED RICK AND
THE UNDERGROUND
SHERIFF DEPT.
ARMAND BITEAUX SPIRITUAL ADVISOR

V
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

AUTHORS NOTE III

PREFACE 1
INTRODUCTION 3
PART I
CHAPTER 1
HISTORY OF MOONSHINING 9
CHAPTER 2
MOONSHINE The principles of distillation and the
moonshine mystique 23
PART II
CHAPTER 3
THE COUNTRY STILL The still and how to build
it 33
CHAPTER 4
THE MASH Grain and fruit recipes 47
CHAPTER 5
THE RUN Setting up, the run, the whiskey. .................67

VI
CHAPTER 6
AGING AND BOTTLING Barrel and bottle aging,
the powers of oak 84
CHAPTER 7
THE KITCHEN STILL How to build and run a
still in the kitchen 95
PART III
CHAPTER 8
SPIRITS Drinks from around the world 107
CHAPTER 9
MOONSHINE AND THE LAW Some of the legal
aspects 117
Recipes 133
Glossary of terms 137

VII
X
 PREFACE
A moonshiner is a person who makes illegal whiskey.
A manual is a how-to-do-it book. The Moonshiners Manual
then, tells you how to be a moonshiner.
This book will also acquaint you with the ancient mys-
tique of the art of fermenting and distilling pure organic
corn whiskey. It is not intended to encourage the reader to
break the law. It is illegal to make any kind of ethanol (drink-
ing alcohol) anywhere in the United States, Canada, or
Great Britain. It is estimated that about 200,000 moonshiners
are operating in the U. S. alone, depriving the federal govern-
ment of more than $500 million in tax revenue per year.
About one fifth of all hard liquor consumed in this country
today is moonshine.
There is a fascinating history of moonshining, block-
ading, bootlegging and efforts to stamp them out, but you
can find books about that history in the library. Encyclo-
pedias will provide the scientific explanation of the chemical
processes involved in making alcohol. Temperance pamphlets
will warn you of the evils and dangers of booze.
This manual, on the other hand, tells how the moon-
shiner gets all his stuff together and makes up a batch. You
can do it too, if you'll accept the responsibility for your
choice and actions. There's no law against knowing how.
THERE IS NO LAW AGAINST HAVING THIS BOOK
IN YOUR POSSESSION!
1
 INTRODUCTION
Since the dawn of history men everywhere have dis-
covered ways to make alcoholic beverages. We'll never know
quite how these discoveries were made, but it's easy to
assume that some food or fruit juice sat around too long,
fermented, and got somebody loaded. Primitive man, lofted
to a strange new consciousness, was released of fears, and
came to think of this beverage—the spirits—as a divine gift.
Aristotle knew about distilling, but it was not until the mid-
dle ages that hard liquor began to spread.
Times have changed and so has man's understanding
of himself and his world around him. Yet distilled alcohol
is considered by many as a precious asset, a given right, a
downright necessity to soften the harsh edges of living
reality. It has always been so.
Cunning men who have sought power over others soon
learned that by controlling the people's supply of intoxicating
drinks, they consequently gained control over their lives.
Governments have taxed liquor throughout the history of civ-
ilization to pay for wars. People have been forbidden by
their leaders to make their own strong drink in order that
the tax coffers might be swelled. Tax collectors have organ-
ized veritable armies to enforce prohibition.
 But the ordinary man would not be denied his right.
He simply went underground or into the back woods to make
his squeezin's. Some few have been reduced to feelings of
criminal guilt, but a great many men went righteously about
the business of building their stills, gathering the necessities,
and nursing their hot bubbling pots in secret until they had
filled several jugs with the fiery juice that elevated them to
new heights of being.
In the early days of the American colonies of England,
the King demanded that the colonists drink English booze—
or pay dearly for drink from elsewhere. Heavy taxes were
placed on American-made liquor. Such action was undeniably
one of the chief causes of the Revolutionary War.
Soon after 1776, the Continental Congress imposed high
taxes on home-made booze," and prosecuted those who evaded
the taxes. Taxes went up in war time, and so did man's need
for a strong drink. Whiskey taxes contributed heavily to
the financial support of the Revolution, the War of 1812, the
Civil War—indeed, it may be seen today how many millions
in alcohol taxes are diverted into our military budget.
Is it any wonder then that so many folks, hard pressed
for the precious hard earned dollars (more than half the
price of a jug) have dared to defy the law?
It's not our place to make any judgment of their mor-
ality, nor to make pronouncements about the justness of the
law. Ours is merely to explore the activity and product of
the likker-lovin' soul who frogs up his own still, sneaks to
a hidden location, and attends devotedly to the manufacture
of his own supply of fire water.
We are not concerned here with the unscrupulous op-
portunist who hurriedly produces great quantities of rot gut
to sell in the ghettos or the speakeasies for a fast buck. We
are looking at the ordinary man who loves an occasional sip
of his own potion. He is the moonshiner, the craftsman,
alchemist, and wizard. There are countless thousands of
his kind in America today who are makin' undercover. A few
thousand are caught by the authorities each year and pro-
secuted by law. The punishment can be ten years, or ten
4
thousand dollars, or maybe they'll just bust up your still
and reprimand you. But moonshining goes on.
In this book you will see what the moonshiner is faced
with, what he needs, how he goes about his craft, and some
of the things he has learned about the distillation of moon-
shine. It is easy to make good hooch. It is even easier to make
deadly poisons.
The process of distilling alcohol from easily available
ingredients is amazingly simple. The fine art which is applied
to the process is exquisite, demanding,—and rewarding.
Whether or not you decide to try your hand as a moon-
shiner is entirely up to your own conscience. If it is your
choice to learn how, and to proceed to build a still, we ask
you to carefully consider the consequences of your decision.
We repeat; it is easy to make deadly poison with carelessness
or improper equipment. It is possible to get busted by the
law. It is exciting to make good sipping whiskey.
Despite the opposition and the merciless laws existing,
moonshining continues in kitchens and cellars, creek-beds and
backyards everywhere. It is not easy to deny the average
man his right to a little nip of his white lightning. He will
shine on.

5
6
PART 1

7
 CHAPTER ONE
MOONSHINING IN AMERICA
While most folks reading this book may have at least
some familiarity with the history of moonshining in America,
it seems appropriate to review that story briefly in these
pages. If nothing else, it is an interesting thread in the tap-
estry of American History. The settling of a new continent
called for courage and endurance. It is an accepted fact that
alcohol has traditionally aided in the maintenance of both
these personal qualities since the dawn of history. Americans
are known the world over as a hard-drinking folk, despite the
influence of the Puritans and Prohibitionists.
Moonshine has played no small part in the daily lives
of countless millions of Americans. Some good, in-depth,
definitive books have been written on the subject. If you're
interested in such things, you can find them in your library.
This chapter will give you a general picture of the back-
ground of this craft.
The History Part
Early in the Revolutionary War, the Continental Con-
gress issued about 200 million dollars in paper currency to
finance the war. By war's end, that money was worthless.
The original new states and the Federal Government were
deeply in debt. The colonists were fed up with unfair British
9
taxes, but the United States, needing funds with which to
operate and to pay their debts, levied new taxes on property
and goods. In 1791 a tax was levied on the making of whis-
key. This aroused the anger of farmers in remote areas, be-
cause it was easier to convert their corn and rye crops into
whiskey than to transport the bulky grains to distant mar-
kets on poor roads. The fact was, a jug of whiskey actually
had more spending value than paper money.
The new law gave permission to government agents to
enter the homes of small whiskey producers and to collect
taxes from them. This brought about a general protest all
over the country. Congress soon lifted the tax for the small-
est whiskey makers in such states as Virginia and North
Carolina; but many moonshiners where the tax remained,
especially in western Pennsylvania, still refused to pay the
tax. To put teeth in the enforcement of the whiskey tax, the
Federal Government sent marshals in to arrest the rebel
ringleaders. That was in 1794. The marshals were met by
angry mobs of farmers. In several locations, bitter fights
broke out. Many people were killed and wounded.
In a move to squash the Whiskey Rebellion, and to re-
establish respect for the Federal Government, President
George Washington ordered troops to Pennsylvania. After
a long confrontation with thousands of rebellious citizens,
involving shoot-outs and house-burnings, the troops restored
order. They arrested several of the leaders near Philadelphia.
Two of these leaders were found guilty of treason, but both
were later pardoned by Washington.
And so, in the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794, the people of
an infant nation learned that the Federal Government did
indeed have the power to enforce its laws with the individ-
ual states. That single action cost the government about
1½ million dollars. An interesting sidelight to George Wash-
ington's action in this matter is that a whiskey still is known
to have been in operation at his home in Mt. Vernon about
that time.

11
 That military action didn't ring the death knell to moon-
shining, however. Far from it. The early Americans loved
their strong "likker" and preferred the hearty corn squeezin's
to the watered and flavored stuff coming from licensed dis-
tilleries. The government had authorized certain distillers
to produce legal whiskey for commercial consumption. Fed-
eral agents were on tap to monitor quality and, of course,
to collect seven cents for Uncle Sam on every gallon produced.
But the hardy new Americans from Ireland and Scotland,
who had developed the art of distilling in the northern part
of the British Isles, were not easily discouraged. Along with
French and German distillers, thousands continued to defy
the tax laws by moving their stills from the farmyards into
the boondocks, where the tax collectors would not find them
so easily. They smuggled their goods into the marketplace
in blockade wagons, covering their jugs and barrels with corn
stalks or hay.
The federal tax agents persisted in seeking out the il-
licit whiskey makers, forcing them deeper into the back
woods. Still raids and the arrests and convictions of moon-
shiners instigated a mass movement of farmers from the
northern Appalachian Mountains southward into the remote
regions of the Smokies and the Blue Ridge Mountains of
Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia.
No doubt, moonshiners have operated in all of the states,
but the southern Appalachian Mountains have long been
known as the heart of moonshine country ever since. Here,
in the remote valleys, far from cities and main roads, the
rugged mountain folk pursued the makin' of stump whiskey
in relative peace for more than a century. Not that the fed-
eral tax collectors did not continue to seek out their stills
and to ambush their blockade wagons as they shipped their
makin's into the growing population centers of the South.
The government continued to punish those who defied the
law and refused to pay the taxes. Penalties for convicted
offenders were severe. Long prison terms and steep fines
were designed to discourage others from risking the manu-
facture of illegal whiskey.
12
 But as a general rule, most of the people in the moun-
tain communities were sympathetic with the moonshiners,
and they often conspired to foil the tax agents in their work.
Even local judges, trying the offenders, often suspended
sentences, or even found their arrested neighbors not guilty
of violating the law. Reports by tax officers to their superiors
in Washington indicated great difficulty in enforcing the
law. Feelings ran so high among the moonshiner's faction
that tax agents were often tarred and feathered, or even
murdered for trying to interfere with the makin' and selling
of their precious mountain spirits. Tax agents who shot
moonshiners were quickly sentenced to hang on charges of
murder, while moonshiners who killed lawmen were often
freed on grounds of self-defense.
In the year 1800, however, Thomas Jefferson was elect-
ed President. One of his early moves was to do away with
the "infernal" tax on whiskey. He regarded it as an infringe-
ment of freedom. For more than half a century afterwards
—except for three years during the War of 1812—whiskey
makers were free to ply their trade or hobby without inter-
ruption. It was to be the one period in American history
without conflict about the legality of moonshine. The roads
and rivers of the expanding young nation were teeming with
wagons and barges carrying home-made likker to the thirsty
communities and isolated frontiers. Special makin's like
Kentucky Bourbon, Monongahela Rye and Tennessee Sippin'
Whiskey were famous and prized wherever drinking folk
met.
By 1850, a strong prohibitionist movement began to
make itself felt, particularly in the major cities of the East.
Heavy pressures were being exerted by individual groups
to stamp out all manufacture and consumption of fermented
and distilled spirits. During this time, of course, the seeds
of the Civil War were taking root in the industrial Northern
states and the predominantly agricultural states of the
South. When the war broke out in 1860, the government fo-
cused little attention on the moonshine problem. In 1862,
13
Lincoln appointed a Commissioner of Internal Revenue to
supervise the collection of income taxes and increased excise
taxes on alcoholic beverages. At that time, the U. S. was
demanding two dollars a gallon on all hard liquor. Moon-
shining thrived during the Civil War. As the war dragged
on, the beleaguered South was desperately in need of grains
to feed the people and their army; consequently, there was
much criticism of the wasting of good corn and rye for the
making of moonshine. The law of supply and demand pre-
vailed, and the drinking folks got their drink.
In the years following the Civil War, the quantity of
moonshine produced throughout the country increased sig-
nificantly. Once again the government, with its vigorous
new Internal Revenue outfit, sent forays of tax collectors
into the mountains and cities to ferret out the whiskey mak-
ers. When Ulysses S. Grant was elected to the Presidency
in 1868, he backed the tax office with funds and military
support to establish, once and for all, the government's in-
tentions to control the moonshine people. Colonel George
Custer, after his time as a Civil War officer and before his
stint at Little Big Horn, was sent to Kentucky to fight moon-
shiners.
New laws were brought into effect—not by popular
vote, but by federal mandate—to punish all manner of vio-
lators. In effect, during the 1870's, a state of near-war
existed between the "revenooers" and the moonshiners. Three
to four thousand stills were seized yearly. Six to eight thou-
sand persons were arrested and convicted every year. Scores
of "revenooers" and moonshiners were killed and injured.
The '70's saw the most intense conflict so far between the
U. S. Government and those who would not be denied their
right to make and drink a little sippin' whiskey. It would
not be until the Prohibition years that the battle would rage
so intensely again.

14
 It should be borne in mind that, even though many
commercial distilleries had been licensed to make and sell
legal liquor, a large portion of the country's expanding popu-
lation was still buying and drinking home-made rum, brandy
and whiskey.
Simultaneously with this deep concern over the matter
of people's rights regarding drinking, Carrie Nation and
her axewielding accomplices were establishing the Women's
Christian Temperance Union. Thousands of Americans,
principally women, who had felt the effects of alcoholism
on their loved ones, joined together to demand an end to the
manufacture and consumption of all alcoholic beverages. It
can be seen that, in those years, a great deal of emotional
and physical energy was being expended by both factions
over the matter of the good and evil nature of drinking
spirits.
For many Americans, these were hard times. Working
conditions in the sweat shops of this expanding industrial
nation were often grim and exhausting. An increasing num-
ber of people turned to alcohol for solace and escape. The
Demon Rum became a literal enemy to those whose lives
were adversely affected by the hard drinkers.
During this era, while the Federal Government was im-
posing its power to collect whiskey taxes and to end illicit
moonshining, a great scandal was brewing which was to be
known as the Whiskey Ring. It seems that during U. S.
Grant's administration as President, a conspiracy of licensed
whiskey manufacturers and government officials grew to
rather enormous proportions. These distillers (mostly in St.
Louis) and members of federal agencies were pocketing large
sums of cash that were intended to go to the tax coffers.
In 1875 investigators fingered the offenders and put a stop
to the cheating. Some of the conspirators held high positions
in the IRS and the Treasury Department, a fact which left
a blot on Grant's entire administration. Grant himself, by
the way, had a pretty good reputation as a lover of hard
likker.
15
 Despite the concentrated efforts of tax collectors, fed-
eral marshals, temperance leaders and prohibitionists,
thousands of folks all over the nation continued to set up
their stills and run their squeezin's. The love of an occasional
nip of mountain dew was too strong to be intimidated by
armed revenooers or by new laws. The moonshiners were here
to stay. It seems that for every still seized, another would
spring up somewhere else. For every convicted violater who
went to the hoosegow, another began distilling.
As a result of the opposition to the demon drink, many
individual states voted to prohibit the sale and use of alco-
holic beverages. The natural reaction, since the drinker
would have his drink, was usually an increase in moonshin-
ing activity in the dry states to make up for the loss of legal
spirits. Needless to say, this led to an increase in "crime."
The Internal Revenue people seldom relaxed in their efforts
to punish the wrongdoers and to collect what they considered
their rightful taxes.
It can be seen that moonshining has been an underground
activity much of the time since the founding of the United
States government; indeed, since even before that, inasmuch
as the British had long attempted to discourage the con-
sumption of anything other than British-made liquor. And
so moonshining has continued through history to be an ac-
tivity purely in defiance of the government's right to say us
nay.
Just prior to the outbreak of World War I, several seri-
ous attempts were made by prohibitionists and Congress to
enact national laws that would make it illegal to manufacture,
sell, buy or drink any form of alcohol. These efforts were
postponed by the nation's involvement in the war in Europe,
but in 1917, legislation was undertaken to make the country
"dry." The Webb-Kenyon Law went into effect in 1920, crea-
ting one of the most drastic scenes the populace had ever
played, with regard to alcoholic beverages. From that time on,
it was a crime to have anything to do with beer, wine or li-
quor. Law enforcement agencies at every level focused great

16
energies on enforcing the Prohibition .Law. The demand for
moonshine was incredible. Throughout the nation, stills were
set up in every kind of hidden place to satisfy the demand for
drink. As the demand increased, the product was made with
greater haste and carelessness. Even many traditional moon-
shine craftsmen, greedy for the money to be made, resorted
to cranking out low-quality alcohol which had not been prop-
erly purified. Fusel oils, zinc salts and blue vitriols (all un-
desirable by-products of careless distilling) were often left
in the product, which caused a variety of tragic effects upon
those who were unfortunate enough to drink the stuff. Nerve
damage, blindness, paralysis, insanity and death became not
uncommon among the imbibers of this cheap underground
rotgut or popskull whiskey.
These were the days when big money could be made by
making and selling anything that would pass for liquor. Se-
cret taverns, called "speakeasies," sprang up all over the
country, where ordinary folks who knew the password could
buy a few drinks. Most of them didn't last long, because once
the word was out, it wasn't long before the local cops were
there to raid the place and load all its customers in the "Black
Maria" for a trip to the clink. By the same token, it was also
not long before another speakeasy appeared in the neighbor-
hood, perhaps disguised as a sandwich shop. The people would
have their booze, and many were willing to risk jail or fines to
have it. Pocket flasks and garter flasks became fashionable
to carry.
With all the money to be made supplying the drinking
population with their only source of alcohol, it was not long
before big syndicates were formed, led by tough gangster
bosses who were willing to kill indiscriminately to protect
their networks of moonshiners, bootleggers and speakeasy
operators. These were the days of the hoods and mobsters
like Al Capone and Dutch Schultz, men who amassed fortunes
and personal power by their anti-prohibition activities.

17
 Enter the Mafia. Conditions were perfect for dedicated
opportunists. Widespread, no-nonsense organizations were set
up which involved suppliers, truckers, makers, warehouses,
importers, exporters, dealers and all manner of henchmen.
Skilled moonshiners and engineers were recruited to develop
giant stills capable of running thousands of gallons per day.
Truckloads of grains were purchased in bulk directly from the
farms. Sugar and other ingredients were bought by the car-
load. Large bakeries were taken over to provide yeast. Souped-
up cars were especially engineered and modified so that ad-
venturous young men could transport the green hooch, hot
off the still, into the marketplace. These were the "trippers"
who dodged and raced the squad cars of pursuing lawmen
over rough mountain roads and crowded city streets. Big
money was made by anybody who felt gutsy enough and clever
enough to avoid arrest. Bunglers and squealers were done
away with.
The Mafia became the biggest, most successful and most
feared of all the big syndicates, amassing untold millions with
its secret powerful operation. The number of arrests, still
seizures, beatings and killings that took place during this
"great experiment" far exceeded the bloody years of the
1870's. The effects of the Prohibition Law still remain a sor-
did memory in United States history.
For thirteen long years America was legally dry and
wildly wet. During those years the government was literally
at war with moonshiners and bootleggers. Finally, a nation
weary of conflict, subterfuge, hypocrisy and low-grade hooch,
voted in 1933 to repeal the law. Some states chose to remain
dry by local option, but licensed commercial distilleries were
back in operation again, and moonshiners went back to small-
scale production. Moonshining was still illegal.

18
 By 1941, the feds were seizing twelve thousand stills a
year. When the U. S. declared war, the excise tax on liquor
was boosted to six dollars a gallon. More and more states and
counties voted "dry." Both of these factors seemed to stimu-
late moonshine activity—and, of course, federal attempts to
stop it. During those times, sugar, metals and gasoline were
hard to get, forcing makers and bootleggers to be even more
creative in finding new ways to supply the national need—a
need made stronger by the closing down of most commercial
distilleries during the war years. With all the tension and
hardship of war, the people wanted their "escape juice." Black
market booze intensified the war on illegal makers to a new
high. The Mafia continued to dominate the underground in-
dustry until the sugar shortage forced them to seek their
principal income in other ways, namely in the growing mar-
ket for heroin and opium. But that's another story.
The '50's and '60's saw a gradual decline in the drama of
illicit liquor. They were days of relative peace and affluence
for most folks not involved in the two wars in Asia. The de-
mand for moonshine decreased. Fewer people were directly
involved in the battle with the revenooers. A goodly amount
of moonshining took place, but on a smaller and quieter scale.
Today, American drinkers spend nearly five billion dol-
lars a year for legal liquor. Alcohol taxes, currently $10.50
per gallon, account for about five percent of the country's
internal revenue. While moonshining is today only a shadow
of its previous character, there remain thousands of stills in
operation from coast to coast. The IRS continues to main-
tain a staff of men to investigate and curtail the makers, and
they are aided by state, county and local law enforcement
agencies. Even in the southern Appalachians, where moon-
shining had its fullest and most romantic flowering, the old-
timers lament that moonshinin' ain't what it used to be.
Today, as increasing numbers of people throughout the
nation are moving away from the cities to find peace and
self-sufficiency in the country, stills are springing up again.
19
In the back-to-the-land movement, however, the emphasis is
not on money-making. It is rather—as in bygone days—a
means of providing a little sippin' likker for family and
friends, at a price the poor man can afford.
We are experiencing a reappearance of the attitude that
the government may have overstepped its rights in denying
the people a little drink of home-made. It is, after all, claim
the rebels, a victimless crime—if indeed it is a crime. The
few cents or dollars that would have gone for taxes, say the
modern day moonshiners, would hardly cover the cost of its
collection.
Is moonshining really coming back? Has it ever been
away? Is the government going to launch a new attack on
the makers of illicit spirits ? Or will popular vote finally change
an archaic law of questionable constitutionality, and bring a
new freedom to enjoy an occasional sip of home-made squeez-
ing?
Only history will tell.

20
21
22
 CHAPTER TWO
INTRODUCTION TO MOONSHINING
Principles of Distillation
To distill is to separate one liquid from another of a dif-
ferent boiling point or evaporation temperature. Such is the
case with alcohol and water, or fermented mash and whiskey.
Alcohol (ethanol) will vaporize at 172.8 degrees F. (or 173
degrees F. as we shall call it from here on.) Water vaporizes
at 212 degrees F. Therefore, if the mixture were heated to
173 degrees, the alcohol would vaporize and leave the water
behind.
The next step is to capture the alcoholic vapors, move
them away from the rest of the mash and cool them enough
to cause them to condense or liquify, so that they may be
bottled and/or disposed of properly.
There are two basic steps involved in getting from
cracked corn to mountain dew. First, the corn has to be fer-
mented. What happens here is that you add sugar to the corn,
add water, and then yeast. This mess is called mash. The yeast
will multiply in the warm water and will exist on the sugar,
which it eats. As the yeast consumes the sugar, it excretes
carbon dioxide and ethanol or alcohol (more commonly known
as loose juice.) The alcohol stays with the mash, and the car-
bon dioxide bubbles off into the air. The yeast will multiply
and consume, and produce the magic juice with enthusiasm.
But as all good things must come to an end, and this is no
23
exception, the yeast produces so much alcohol that it starts
killing itself faster than it can multiply and the process grinds
to a halt as the sugar is used up and the yeast dies off. The
liquid you have left is a crude beer containing approximately
16% alcohol: the mash.
The second step is to distill this fermented mash. Quite
simply, you put the mash in a sealed pot and heat it to 173
degrees. The vapors, as they rise out of the pot, move into
a copper tube which conducts the steam to the condenser bar-
rel. Here the tube enters the condenser and coils around and
around inside the barrel, which is filled with constantly cir-
culating cold water, and emerges through the wall of the
barrel at the bottom. As the vapors cool, they condense into
a liquid state again, and the drops can be joyously collected
in your jug.

24
 If you want to try a simple demonstration of the basic pro-
cess in your kitchen, here's a little trick you can do in a few
minutes:
Pour about a pint or so of any pure wine (not the cheaper
synthetic commercial brands) into a stainless steel or cop-
per sauce-pan. Put a cup or small bowl in the middle of the
pan so that the cup is in the wine, but the wine is not in the
cup. Now, get a plate, saucer, or bowl that will cover the pan
as a lid. This lid should have a curving or rounded bottom so
it can be filled with cold water and ice cubes, so when the
wine is heated and the spirit vapors rise to the cold lid, they
will condense and drip into the cup below.
Bring the temperature up very slowly over a medium-low
heat. As it approaches 173 degrees the drops of crude brandy
will begin to fill your cup. When you have enough to taste
and examine, STOP! Do not continue heating for more than
about five minutes.

25
 This method is not by any means suggested as a substi-
tute for a still. There is no control over temperature, proof,
or quality. Simply a demonstration of the basics and a taste
of things to come.
In a nut shell, that's how you make scorpion juice. But
hold on a minute, there. You ain't a moonshiner yet. There's
a lot of other stuff you got to know before you're ready to
start. Read on. The thing is, while it is all very simple to
vaporize and condense alcohol, it's also very painstaking work
with a whole lot of critical do's and don'ts. So pay close at-
tention.

What Moonshine is Like

Have you ever tasted real, honest-to-goodness moon-
shine? If you have, then you know it's like no beverage you
can buy in the store. First off, pure corn liquor, before it's
aged or adulterated, is crystal clear, like spring water. The
fumes will make your eyeballs smart and they'll pucker your
nostrils before you can get a fruit jar full up to your lips. The
first taste is deceptive. It can seem harmless enough to the
tongue, but it goes down your tubes like a highly seasoned
swig of napalm, instantly sounding battle stations to your
entire nervous system. It also will creep up on you. As one
codger told us, "it's a good idea to be settin' on the ground
when you drink it, so you won't have so far to fall."
It's no joke, gentle reader, one jigger of gen-yoo-wine
panther juice will knock your socks off, simultaneously jolt-
ing you out of the sober state. A loose high? You bet your
best pair of overalls it is. If you're new to mountain dew,
you'd best go real easy at first, cause, lord love ya', a couple
of snorts can get you rapidly shitfaced, falling-down drunk
in no time flat.
Ignorant folks have been known to chug-a-lug a mere
pint of the fiery stuff and drop very suddenly dead on the
floor. It ain't called sippin' whiskey for nothing. Please un-

26
derstand that in no way is the foregoing word of caution de-
signed to alarm or discourage. The point is, any alcohol when
drunk too fast can overwhelm your body. It's just that the
alcohol content of moonshine can be pretty high. Drink it
easy. Treat it with respect. Have a nice time. One comes to
have a profound regard for authentic creepin' whiskey. Are
you getting the picture? Do you begin to see why, as one
whiskey guru told us, "moonshinin' gits in your blood!"

The Moonshine Mystique

The information given in the Moonshiners Manual came
down to us through a long line of folks who have, amongst
'em squeezed out many thousands of gallons of ruckus juice
in their time. We'll pass along as much of what the moon-
shiner needs to know as we can. Along with that, there's this
"mystique" we keep talking about. Moonshining is intriguing,
partly because it's illegal and partly because it can be dan-
gerous if you don't mind your P's and Q's. It's intriguing, too,
because you're makin' your own traditional, high-powered
moonshine from scratch. No doubt about it, makin' is fun and
drinkin' is funner. There are those living among us for whom
the fine art has become the ultimate adventure. Let's see if
we can pick up a taste of that adventure.
The moonshiner and his partners pick the location for
their whiskey makin' operation with care. They may scout
the backwoods for several days before finding a spot suitable
for all the conditions of moonshining. First off, of course,
they want to be far enough from the roads and houses to
avoid detection. If they are going to have a wood fire under
the still pot, there's the smoke to think about. They wouldn't
want an alert forestry lookout to dispatch a crew of firefight-
ers to the area.

27
 Despite its isolation, the still site has to be fairly acces-
sible. The moonshiner has to carry in barrels, still, sacks of
corn and sugar, jugs, hoses, and other gear—and carry it
out again, undetected. He usually unloads all his stuff near
the road and drives his truck away so it won't stand as a
signal of suspicious activity to passers-by. It's not uncommon
for such passers-by to encounter men with squirrel rifles
along the road who tell the strangers they'd best turn back,
'"cause there ain't nothin' of interest in these parts." The
moonshiner might carry his supplies and equipment down into
a wooded ravine. To avoid creating obvious paths through
the woods, he often takes several different routes to and from
the still site.
A major consideration for a still site is the availability
of an unlimited water supply. A creek, ideally with a bit of a
waterfall, can provide the cold water required for the oper-
ation. A downhill slope from the still can carry off the excess
water flow, so there won't be too much mud to wade around
in. Often this excess water from the condenser can be divert-
ed back into the stream, but the veteran moonshiner takes
care that someone downstream doesn't detect the presence
of the waste products of the operation. Many a revenooer
caught his man by means of such clues.
As you can see, there's a lot of stuff to carry in and out
of the woods for a whiskey rum. Two or three men are usually
required to carry it off. Too many people involved, though,
are apt to arouse the curiosity of the neighboring community,
which is, of course, always a bad idea.
In the old days, moonshiners sometimes liked to set up
their stills in caves, or if they lived way off in the sticks, they
would build fairly permanent still houses to shelter them-
selves and their equipment, thus simplifying many aspects of
the operation. But if the local revenooer was on the prowl
in the area, the still house was a dead giveaway.

28
 It's not uncommon for the moonshiner to pack in grub
and bedrolls for a stay of several days at the site while fer-
menting and distilling several barrels of mash. This often
means lanterns and night fires, both of which contribute to
the possibility of getting caught, or he works by the light of
the full moon, which he always loves, and which enhances the
run in many subtle and wonderful ways. That is, of course,
where he got his name.
A little paranoia is not an uncommon state of mind for
the working moonshiner—although his sense of his own in-
alienable right to make himself a little whiskey, and his con-
stitutionally guaranteed right to the pursuit of happiness,
usually see him through.
Once the mash is started in its barrel, the die is cast.
Nothing short of an officer of the law can persuade the true
moonshiner to abandon his post. Through heat and rain, cold
and darkness, he remains attentively by his precious cauldrons
and tends them with care until his work is done.
At any moment there is the outside possibility of the
sudden emergence from the woods of an armed revenooer,
demanding his arrest and surrender. Some will run into the
woods, leading the persecutor on a merry chase through glen
and glade. Others will submit to handcuffs or agree to appear
before the local law at a given time the next day. The stills
are slugged with axes. The whiskey is poured out on the
ground. Mash barrels are overturned and smashed. A sordid
prospect indeed, yet one which every moonshiner knows is
a real possibility.
But the bust is still a relatively infrequent event. Witness
the fact that every fifth drink of hard liquor consumed in
the United States today is moonshine!
On a successful run, when the mash is played out, and
the white mule is safely in the jugs, the moonshiners then
pack all their barrels, pots, jugs and miscellaneous stuff back

29
through the woods to be picked up by the truck, or hide the
equipment and leave no traces of the run—if they are still
able to walk after sampling their product.
There is cleaning up to do, scrubbing of barrels and pots,
securing the fire, picking up old sacks, and any other evidence
of activity there. This would obviously be the hardest part to
get into after sampling, but the smart moonshiner takes no
chances of spoiling a good location for a future run. In some
areas where revenooers abound, the 'shiner is forced to keep
finding new locations to avoid detection. The fact is, the ex-
perienced moonshiner learns a lot of clever tricks, not only
in the makin' of good hooch but in avoiding the law. Revenoo-
ers and moonshiners develop a great respect for each other's
cleverness. It's the ancient love story that evolves between the
hunter and his prey.
You've just had a little peek at the adventure of a coun-
try run, as though you had looked down from the top of a
ravine at the moonshiners below. In the remainder of this
book, we'll take you through the underbrush to the bottom
of the ravine, where you will learn the do's and dont's of
making your own spirits. Your location may be different. It
may be in your back yard, your attic, cellar or garage, or
maybe you'll choose the simplified, civilized method of makin'
in your kitchen which we'll describe later. But wherever and
however the makin' takes place, may it always carry some of
that old country backwoods moonshine mystique.

30
PART II

31
32
 CHAPTER THREE
THE COUNTRY STILL
The traditional country still has been made in a thou-
sand shapes and sizes since ancient times. The design sug-
gested here is taken from a typical home-made country still
—one that's turned out a whole lot of really fine corn likker.
We'll tell you how to build one like it, and we'll add a few
suggestions for simplifying or modifying it according to your
ingenuity, needs, and the availability of materials.
Building your own country still from scratch could cost
from one to two hundred dollars or more, depending on the
size and particulars of the still you choose to build. If you're
into supplying a little whiskey for your family and neighbors
over a period of time, that's not a bad investment at all. Be-
sides your still will pay for itself in a very short time in saved
taxes.
No doubt about it, it is going to take some time, effort,
and money. As we've heard many a time when inquiring
about the craft, "ain't no lazy man gonna make wheesky."
But if you figure you've got as much brains as the old codger
in the woods who built this "typical" still, then head on. Just
follow instructions, use your head, and keep in mind the basic
principles, and you really have all the room in the world to
vary from the basic plan.
If on the other hand, building a country still seems too
much to tackle, or if you live on the 14th floor on the corner
of Second and Main where one wouldn't be of much use to
33
you, take heart. Read this chapter for the basics. .Later we'll
show you a much simpler method and equipment you can
set up, with easily available materials, in your own kitchen.

The typical country still illustrated here will serve as a

model and will be covered in detail. Any variations in the size
and capacity, according to your wants or needs, should be
made proportionately throughout the construction. You can
make your still larger or smaller, as you please, as long as
you understand the important relationships involved. There
are many aspects to consider.
This still is designed to get from one to three gallons of
good, hot whiskey from one barrel (50 gallons) of mash.
That's enough to supply the farm or ranch and a few neigh-
bors for a while without having to run the still too often. A
little white lightning goes a long way.

34
 The main components of the still are: the kettle or pot,
the cap, the slag-box, the thumper (if one is used), condenser,
and a heating system. You'll also be working with jugs and
barrels and such but these things are not considered as parts
of the still itself. We will take up each of the components
separately, explaining its design and function, and show how
they work together. With a basic design and knowledge of the
functional requirements of these parts, you should be able
to come up with a still that will fit your needs and that can
be constructed from materials available to you.
This still is made completely out of copper. All stills
should be made only out of copper or stainless-steel, or a com-
bination of the two. No other metals should be used. Any
other metals in contact with the whiskey during a run, will
react adversely, producing toxins, some deadly, which will
contaminate the run.
It has a 35 gallon total capacity and a 25 gallon mash
capacity. This means it will run 25 gallons of mash at a time,
leaving 10 gallons of space between the mash level and the
cap. This space accomodates the bubbling head as the mash
is cooked and prevents it from "puking" into the cap and
"clouding" your run. This is an ideal size for the average
small time maker. It will run one-half of the standard 55 gal-
lon mash (or wine) barrel at a time. The size of your still
should compliment the size of your mash barrel and vice ver-
sa, so that the still will handle the volume of mash your mash
barrel can produce. This one requires two full runs per barrel.
A pot of twice the capacity obviously will distill one full barrel
per run.

35
 The Pot
Here is where the fermented mash is heated to the magic
temperature of 173 which in turn releases the elixir as a
vapor, sending it on its merry way. The pot may be your
toughest acquisition but it's the heart of your still and should
be put together with loving care. As stated before, it is made
only of copper or stainless-steel. All joints and seams should
be silver soldered only on copper pots and heli-arc welded on
stainless steel.
If you're really lucky you might be able to find an old
copper milk can or laundry boiler of some sort that can be
converted into a still pot. Maybe you'll find a big old stainless
steel pressure cooker or soup pot in a restaurant supply or
surplus outfit. Persevere. Poke around. Ask people, discreet-

36
ly. Some folks may even suspect you want the copper, or what
have you, for a still, of all things. Ridiculous. Although some
folks may be unsympathetic to the devil's brew and/or its
manufacture, there's no harm done in asking around. You
can't always get what you want, but with a little persever-
ance, you can get what you need.
If you are going to build the pot out of sheet copper, re-
member that it's going to be pressurized and all seams should
be solid and air-tight. If you've worked with sheet copper
before then you'll know how easily it crimps and kinks when
bent. If not, then go easy. You might try forming the nec-
essary curves by bending it gently and gradually around a
large tree trunk or post.
If cutting, bending, and soldering copper seems a bit out
of your line then you might try to find a metalworker, or
equally competent friend, who will frog it up for you, for
some cash on delivery, or promise of a share of the booty. Al-
most everybody appreciates a little nip now and then and
might be obliged to assist in return for a private stash of your
brew.
However it is built, it should have an inlet near the top
so you have access to the inside for filling the still and doub-
ling while the still is assembled and the cap is in place, during
the run. This opening should be a good five inches or so in
diameter to allow for easy filling from a bucket and to admit
your arm for cleaning purposes before and after the run. This
hole must also seal up pressure-tight, but the cap must be
fairly easy to remove and replace during the run when it is
hot.
At the very top of the pot is the neck and a lip which the
cap will connect to. The cap has a sort of collared sleeve
which fits inside the neck and seats on the lip of the pot.
Next, very important, but not quite essential in a pinch,
is the temperature gauge. Not quite essential because the ex-
perienced moonshiner can learn to tell the temperature by his
senses and the little telltale signs which say that "all is well",
37
or "cut back the flame, it's getting too hot!" But until you've
mastered these arts you had best use a temperature gauge.
It should read at least between 100 degrees and 200 degrees,
and be mounted in an easy-to-read location near the top of
the pot with the heat sensor in the center of the cooking mash.
This will give you the most accurate reading.
The pot must have a drain at the bottom to empty the
played-out mash at the end of each run. A one-inch, faucet-
type valve will allow you to empty the still at a good rate.
Finally, you'll find that a couple of handles, high on
either side, will make for easy transporting.

The Cap
The cap, as shown in the sketch, is a cone-shaped unit
that serves as sort of an expansion chamber as it also funnels
the steam into the connecting tube. It should be easy to clean.
The neck of the cap fits snugly into the neck of the pot. A
gasket of cardboard, rubber, or flour and water is placed
between the lips which are then clamped tight with mini C-
clamps or some sort of wing-bolt arrangement. This connec-
tion can be semi-permanent, as you won't need to break the
seal once the run has started, but should be removable for
cleaning and easy transportation.

38
 The Slag Box
Another one of those optional but highly recommended
accessories to a good still is the slag box. A simple purifying
device, it is a copper or wooden expansion chamber which
allows the vapors to spread out, causing the heavier impurities
to settle to the bottom as the lighter, purest alcohol rises to
the top and into the conducting tube again, on the way to be-
coming whiskey.
As the impurities like fusel oils (a toxic by-product of the
process) collect and condense at the bottom of the slag box,
you would need a little petcock at the bottom for occasional
draining of the nasty stuff.

39
 The Condenser
And here is where the steam is finally returned to a li-
quid state and is dispensed into your waiting jug. The vapors
enter the flake box (condenser) inside the copper tubing and
begin spiraling downward in a coil. The flake box is filled
with constantly circulating cold water. There should be at
least 10 feet of tubing in the box to give the vapors a com-
plete chance to cool. Quarter-inch to three-eighths diameter
copper tubing will be sufficient here, and about a foot of it
extends out of the bottom of the barrel.
40
 A valuable tip: Before you start bending the tube into
coils you should fill it with sand or sawdust to avoid crimping.
You can again use a tree or pole to shape the coils. Don't for-
get to rinse the sand and sawdust from the tube with a hose.
The coil must be secured at the top as it enters the condenser,
and there must be a drain hole at the bottom which can be
adjusted to equalize the amount of water flowing in and flow-
ing out.
What some of the boys used to do, was mount the flake
box off to the side and below a creekbed and run the cold
water down a conduit or hollowed sapling or hose into the
top of the barrel. Some folks just let it fill and overflow.
Others feel it is better to poke a hole or two at the bottom to
let the excess water escape. A faucet-type valve, again, is the
best.
You might want to do some trenching around the con-
denser, as several hours of spilling water would probably
make a mud puddle tit-high to a ten foot injun.
One little tidbit regarding the condenser. You'll want a
pretty good seal around the end of the "worm" or tube as
it extends through the bottom of the barrel. Otherwise, water
will leak out and run down the tube, and into your pure corn
squeezin's. You wouldn't want that, now would you?
A quick note about car radiators. There have been thou-
sands of cases in the history of moonshining in which ade-
quate materials for making a good still have simply not been
available. You've no doubt heard that car radiators, for
example, have been occasionally used as condensers. Well
friend, we have only one comment about radiators. That is
FORGET THEM!!! There is no way to be sure that they are
clean inside, not to mention the fact that all joints and seams
are held together by lead solder. Bad news. Just leave car
radiators alone, even new ones. Please!

41
 Heating System
It seems unlikely that any self-respecting moonshiner
ever used the term "heating system," but since there are
several ways to apply heat to your kettle, we'll use that term
now. What it will need to do is heat the mash to 173 degrees
and hold it there for many hours. Kitchen stoves are nice,
in the kitchen. A propane or gas burner could prove perfect
for you. The honest-to-gosh backwoods maker built a fire
under his pot and tended it carefully with a large supply of
hardwood cut to various sizes, ready to feed into the fire.
The illustrated heating system works very nicely and is
simple to get together. It's the top third of a 55-gallon steel
oil drum. A hole was cut in the top, just a little smaller than
the base of the still it is to support.
This exposes the bottom of the still to direct flame from
the fire box while providing a lip to support the considerable
weight (over 200 pounds) of the still, filled with mash. A
hinged door cut out of the front can adjust the air flow with
the help of a rear vent, ideally with a chimney or smokestack.

42
 If you're going to invent your own firebox, remember
the weight that must be supported. Design it to use the heat
efficiently. A great many of the backwood hillbillies built
stone firepits with great chimneys enclosing the entire still
pot, using all the heat of a minimal flame. With practice or
experience (really the same thing) and one of these giant
stone heaters that draws the heat and smoke around the sides
of the kettle, you can control the temperature of the mash
to ½ of a degree anywhere you want it. It should be
apparent here that the main factor to consider about the
heating system is precise temperature control and efficient
heat use.
The experienced moonshiner developed a fine art in
tending his hardwood firepit. You may understandably pre-
fer to use a simple propane burner, or maybe you'll rig one up
from an old cafe grill. If you do consider gas, please keep the
gas tank at least 10 feet from your flame.
Another thing to add to your list of supplies is something
to catch the squeezins' in. Some of the old timers used to
catch their likker in an oaken tub or bucket. But mud, oak

43
leaves, inebriated insects, and the like are sometimes disheart-
ening floating around in the beautiful crystal elixir. The ideal
catchin' jug is one of those clear glass, five gallon, commeri-
cal water bottles. (You know Sparklets, or Culligan, spring
or artesian water merchants). Not actually one of the still
parts, but most essential, wouldn't you agree ?
So, there you have your still. Lord knows it ain't Jack
Daniels' distillery, but it can brew up the finest moonshine
this side of Istanbul, if you take your time, do it right, and
have your equipment properly constructed and clean. Just
stick to the principles. Every still, funky or slick, has its own
unique character.

The Thumper Barrel

This thumper is an option not suggested for the rookie.
The advanced moonshiner, though, might take note of this
purifying device as an addition to his basic still. It goes in
between the slag box and the condenser and can be considered
44
as an elaborate slag box, only instead of an empty box, the
thumper is an air-tight oak barrel filled with fermenting
mash. The steam enters at the bottom of the barrel, having
to make it's way to the top as it bubbles up. Again the lighter
purest alcohol will rise to the top and continue via a connect-
ing tube on to the condenser. The heavier impurities are
trapped in the thumper and remain behind in the mash. When
the run is finished, the "thumped mash" is put into the still to
be run off, and the thumper is filled with fresh mash. The
name thumper came from the deep rhythmic sound made as
the bubbles forced their way through the mash in the barrel.
Actually, unless you're planning on doing high volume,
multiple runs and rotating many barrels over an extended
period of time, then you're not quite ready for the thumper.
But at least you're learning how to talk moonshine.

45
46
 CHAPTER FOUR
THE MASH
Corn Liquor
There are many ways to make the mash. Every moon-
shiner has a different story, and often it happens that two
stories contradict each other on more than one point. There
are no academies or degrees in moonshining, and each man
is his own school of thought. Of all the grains and fruits from
which whiskey or brandy is made, each has its own unique
contribution to the taste and texture of the hooch. How you
blend the ingredients is largely a matter of taste. As in any
art though, and in the art of moonshining, there are basics.
Try a tested trusted recipe first. It has been used many times
and it works. After we have been through the basic story
we'll take up some possible variations.
One (standard, 55-gallon, oak) Barrel
Of Sweet Corn Mash
50 gallons of warm clean water (90-100 degrees)
25 pounds of medium grind (No. 4) yellow-hybrid
cracked corn
30 pounds of pure cane sugar
1-2 quarts of unsulphured molasses
1 pound block of bakers yeast
47
 Getting Your Supplies Together
The Barrel
A fifty-five gallon oak barrel will do you fine. These can
often be obtained from wineries and distilleries, for prices
that vary greatly according to their supply and demand and
how good the buyer's rap is. Other hardwoods, such as hick-
ory, alder, ash, or poplar make suitable mash barrels, but
are harder to come by. Make sure the barrel dosen't have any
cracked staves. If it is dry, and not damaged, it may look
like it could never hold water due to the spaces between the
staves. But do not become discouraged, it can be cured, most
likely, by soaking the barrel. It may take several days with
cold water. Warm is much quicker, but the barrel should sea-
son up and not leak a drop.

48
 Also make double sure that there is no metal in the barrel
that is going to come in contact with the mash. That is very
important. A galvanized nail buried in the wood can poison
the whole batch with zinc salts, which will not distill out. His
barrels are beautiful, and the moonshiner spends a lot of time
in their company, so he picks and treats them with care.

49
50
 The Mash Box
You can build your own mash box that will serve you
just as well. But you must build it right. Use a good hard-
wood for the box, preferably white oak, or hickory. Don't
use fir or pine unless you want turpentine or some similarly
related atrocities in your mash, and therefore also in your
whiskey.
Build it with pegs, dovetail joints, hemp lashing, what-
ever you can come up with. Just use no nails, screws, or other
metals and avoid glues or anything else that might react
chemically with the mash. Make your joints and seams as
tight as you can and take comfort in the fact that most
cracks up to ¼ inch can be seasoned and swelled by soaking.
The important things to remember are that the mash should
touch no metals, and that the barrel doesn't leak.
There are other things you can do in a pinch. If you hap
pen to have a fifty gallon high-fire stoneware or ceramic urn
lying around, or know where to score one, then that will work
wonderfully. Even glass will work, but it doesn't provide much
insulation, and is subject to drops in temperature. The moon-
shiner likes his barrels and boxes, but in desperation, when
all else fails, he knows he can get by setting a batch or two
in a plastic garbage can. Oh well.

51
 Corn
Go to the feed store and buy 25 pounds of cracked corn.
Ask for a medium grind—No. 4—yellow hybrid. No chemi-
cals, please, just corn. You might start dropping remarks
around town about the chicken coop you've just finished
building.
Since the mash can be almost any kind of fermented or-
ganic materials, which implies a vast variety of combinations,
you've got the rest of your life to explore new recipes. After
you've tried the suggested recipe, you can start experimenting
with different grains and combinations of them. Try 5 or
10% rye with the corn. Or barley, with a third rye and a third
corn. Each grain adds its own special quality to the whiskey.
Your taste and preferences will dictate the characteristics of
the blend and brew you decide is "the best." But then, plain ole
corn likker has been a favorite for ages.

52
 The Sugar
The recipe calls for 30 pounds of pure cane sugar. If the
package doesn't say "cane sugar," then it's probably beet sug-
ar, and you don't want it. Cane sugar and beet sugar have
different molecular structures, and cane sugar has the kind
that breaks down into alcohol more quickly when exposed to
yeast—which naturally brings a smile to the moonshiner's
face.
Feel free to use more sugar, more molasses, or even lots
of molasses. Some moonshiners use up to fifty pounds of cane
sugar for a fifty-gallon batch of mash. As for molasses, rum
is made from molasses, and if you like the taste of rum, then
go heavy on the molasses. In the old days—the real old days
—Yankee Traders made a triangle between New England,
the Caribbean and Africa. They got molasses in Jamaica,
brought it to Boston where it was distilled into rum, then
took the rum to Africa and traded it for slaves—which they
then traded for more molasses. Today, both molasses and
slaves are more expensive, but if money is no object, feel free.
If money Is an object, consider corn syrup. Not the kind
that the government used to give away in its surplus food
program—that kind has all sorts of chemicals in it. Pick out
the pure kind if you decide to use it. The moonshiner is touch-
ier than the most devout organic eater about chemicals in
his mash. Long term poisons have a way of turning into short
term poisons when mixed together and run through a still.
Commercial distilleries add all kinds of chemicals to their
liquor. Real moonshine is pure, natural, organic.

53
 The Yeast
The best and cheapest suitable yeast to use is the kind
that bakers use. It comes in one-pound blocks, and that's just
what you need for this recipe—a one-pound block. See your
local baker. A lot of people are doing their own baking these
days. You just happen to be doing a little more than most of
them. Be careful with the yeast—it's fragile. Keep it out of
the sun, or any strong light. Keep it away from heat or ex-
treme temperature changes. Use it within a few days after
buying it.
There's a lot of leeway with the yeast, too. If you can't
get baker's yeast, you can use dry active yeast. This is some-
times available in bulk from health food stores. As a last re-
sort, you can buy the yeast in little envelopes from your
friendly local supermarket. This kind of thing is to be avoided
if possible—mainly because it costs more. Also, something
rubs the moonshiner wrong in the thought of using ingredi-
ents that come in neat little plastic packages. The moonshiner
has a love for the raw materials of his craft, and a strong
distaste for fancy packaging of any kind.
If you do use dry active yeast, it will not automatically
liquify when you mix it with the sugar. You'll have to add a
little warm water to get things going. Other than that, every-
thing's the same.
Molasses
You need at least one quart of molasses. If you use mo-
lasses, make sure it's either blackstrap or pure unsulphured
molasses. Go a little easy with blackstrap, it's stronger. As a
rule of thumb, the moonshiner is a nitpicker when it comes
to the purity of his materials. Just as copper means copped,
so molasses means molasses—not molasses and sulphur. Who
wants to drink sulphur—or anything that has to do with
sulphur?

54
 Selecting the Location
A smart moonshiner considers, and settles as best he can,
every detail of his operation before beginning. In all phases
of whiskey-making, the preparations you have made go a
long way toward setting the course of the operation itself.
Timing is important, and if you have to take time out during
the run itself to attend to things that should have been settled
earlier, you run the risk of blowing your timing, and with it,
the whole show. The location for setting the mash is impor-
tant, and there are a lot of angles to choosing one. Usually
the working mash barrel is placed fairly close to the still, mak-
ing it easier to transfer the mash to the pot. You're going
to need warm water—fifty gallons of it. Ideally, the water
should be 90 degrees Fahrenheit. It doesn't have to be that
hot, but the mash will start working a lot faster if it is. On the
other hand, if the water is colder than 45 degrees, the yeast
will struggle to survive. This is one variable out of many. The
degree of control you get over all these factors will determine
the quality of the final product.
Another thing that nibbles more or less continuously at
the fringes of a thinking moonshiner's mind is the possibility
of getting caught. Getting caught with a fifty-gallon barrel of
mash is just as illegal as getting caught with a fifty-gallon
barrel of good, clear, sweet, 190-proof corn whiskey. The mash
is going to have to be left alone for a period of time, the length
of which can't be exactly predicted. If the weather turns
cold, if the yeast is weak, if the water isn't warm enough, it's
going to take longer. If everything clicks, and if the mash
gets a nice dose of sunlight, you might be ready to run in half
the time you figured. In any case, the mash is vulnerable for
however long it takes. Smart moonshiners hardly ever set
their mash in state parks. How far are you going to have to
go to check your mash? How far, if at all, are you going to
have to lug the mash to the still when it's ready to run? Ob-
viously, everyone's situation will be different. Do your best
and think ahead. If you're spiritually inclined, the official
motto of the Boy Scouts of America makes a good mantra.
55
56
 Odds and Ends
Here are a few additional supplies you're going to have
to take to your location. Get a good stiff scrub brush and a
box of baking soda. Find a large gunny sack and wash it 'til
it's as clean as Queen Anne's lace. Bring along a large pan
(4-8 quarts) and a fork.
If you've gotten it all together, and everything feels
right, then say a little prayer to the god or gods of your
choice, and let's get cookin'!
Preparing the Mash
First soak the corn. To do this, pour it into the gunny
sack. Then tie the bag off near the top, leaving room for the
corn to expand to half again its volume. Throw the bag into
a tub of warm water and leave it alone for three days. This
will start the corn fermenting naturally and give the mixture
a healthy start.
When the grain has soaked and you're ready to set the
mash, scrub out the barrel thoroughly with the brush and
liberal amounts of baking soda.
Then the barrel gets rinsed out just as thoroughly to get
rid of all the baking soda. A trace of soda in the barrel will
kill your mash, so be sure about it.
Put the clean sack full of corn into the clean barrel. Pour
the molasses—or malt—in after it. Now set aside at least three
cups of sugar (you'll need them later) and dump the rest into
the barrel. Fill the barrel with warm water—to about two
inches below the top, to allow for bubbles and foam. The mash
is now primed and ready to go. What you need to kick it off
is the starter.
To make the starter, crumble the yeast block into a pan.
Pour the sugar over it that you had set aside earlier. Now
mash the sugar gently into the yeast with the fork, breaking
up the larger lumps. For a few minutes nothing will happen.
But watch closely. Suddenly, after about five minutes, the
57
yeast and sugar will melt together and form a thick, foamy
liquid. It's like a magic trick. The foam will thicken and
swell, rising in the pan like intelligent quicksand. Let it foam
and grow up to the lip of the pan, then pour it into the barrel.
(You'd better not make your starter until your mash is ready,
or it'll run all over the ground, like the Blob.) Stir the mix-
ture once, gently, to spread the yeast over the surface. Then
step back and reach for your Bull Durham. The mash has a
life of its own now, and all you can do is watch it carefully,
smell it, taste it, keep it company and whisper sweet nothings
over its changing surface until the signs tell you that it is
growing up and is ready to be run through the still. That
moment may come as quickly as a day and a half, or, under
certain conditions, may take up to a week. But when it comes,
you have to know what to look for.

Fermentation
How long you will have to wait depends on a lot of things,
some of them outside of your control. If the water was cooler
than 90 degrees, the yeast isn't going to reproduce as quickly,
and the whole process is going to get off to a slower start. If
the water is cool, expect to wait longer. The yeast can vary
in freshness, and that will make a difference. The moonshiner
can't rely on clocks and gauges—that's for the Jack Daniels
people. The moonshiner must depend upon his own senses
of sight, touch and smell. Nothing is automated. The moon-
shiner hovers over his barrels like a chef. He is mindful of
the subtlest changes. He knows when to act and when to leave
well enough alone. He neither stirs nor jostles his mash once
the yeast has been added.
Whether the mash is ready in two days or a week, and
whether it's corn or some other fermentable base, the process
of fermentation is the same. The yeast will consume the sug-
ar and in doing so, emit carbon dioxide gas, and—of course
—alcohol.

58
 At the point where you add the starter, the mash is a
barrel of sugar and water. Taste it. It will taste sickeningly
sweet. It will be sticky between your fingers. Note the color
at this point. As the sugar is used up and the alcohol appears,
the mixture will lose its sweetness and take on the "dry"
quality of wine. Dip your fingers in from time to time and
taste, for your education and peace of mind. The laws of na-
ture are working for you. The moonshiner takes a lot of com-
fort from working hand in hand with the laws of nature.
When you add the starter, it will fizzle on the surface
of the mash for a few minutes—for about as long as it takes
for you to finish your smoke. Then it will die away to a thin,
patchy foam. In ten minutes to a half hour, tiny bubbles will
appear all around the edge of the barrel in a thin white line,
disappearing as soon as they surface. Look at the mash care-
fully at this point. Study it and remember how it looks. In a
few minutes, larger bubbles will begin to appear at random
points across the surface.
At first there will be just a few—bobbing up and holding
fast for a while before disappearing. Little pock marks will
appear in the foam as the bubbles pop. If everything is work-
ing right, in maybe an hour the bubbles will be coming up
faster than they disappear, crowding each other into a thick-
ening white foam. At this point, the moonshiner can hardly
hold back a smile. Something is happening in that barrel, and
that something is makin' alcohol. It has to. It's a good time to
adjourn for a plate of ham hocks or a little while with the
old lady. All is well.
If the moonshiner comes back in three to six hours, finds
the area undisturbed by strange footprints, and finds the bub-
bles coming so fast that the mash appears to boil, his smile
broadens. If he can hear the bubbles popping and fizzing from
twenty feet away, he chuckles. If he bends over the barrel
and feels the cool spray, like a monster ginger ale, on his
weathered face, he howls into the wind. If there is no wind, or
other covering sound, he probably keeps quiet. Time is part

59
of the moonshiner's investment, and the quicker the mash
comes to a strong "boil," the more time he is going to save.
When the mash really begins to work, the gunny sack
will start to bob up to the surface and then down, regularly
in the barrel. As the yeast works its way through the pores of
the bag and reacts with the sugar, bubbles of gas will be trap-
ped, floating the bag to the surface; then, the bubbles are re-
leased into the air, at which point the bag will sink. A bag
that appears every few minutes on the surface of the mash,
wallows over like a lazy whale, then sinks again, is a very
good sign indeed.

Watch the building of the process. When the "boiling"

seems to be leveling off, you can figure that the fermenting
process is about half finished. There is now enough alcohol
in the mash to kill the yeast faster than it can multiply. Also,
the sugar is being exhausted, and there is less for the yeast
to feed on. The fermentation will gradually slow down until
the thick head breaks up into individual bubbles. Then there
will be just a few random bubbles, as there were in the begin-
ning. Finally, the large bubbles will stop coming entirely, and
all that will be happening will be the thin line of tiny bubbles
around the edge. The mash now is sort of milkier or creamier
colored than at the beginning.
60
 For the moonshiner, this is a critical time. The alcohol
content is very close to its highest point, and noticeable to the
taste. If the mash is left alone much longer, the alcohol will
start to react with bacteria in the air, forming vinegar. Vine-
gar is good stuff, and a little slosh of it can sure liven up a
plate of turnip greens, but the moonshiner doesn't want to
find it in his mash barrel. He knows that a few hours one
way or the other isn't going to make too much difference, but
by now he's tired of waiting. It's time to start the run.
You can simplify your estimating the progress of the
mash by buying an inexpensive hydrometer—the kind used
by beer brewers. Float it in the mash. When it shows about
16 percent alcohol, it's time to go!
That's one way to do it; about as simple and basic a
method of preparing the mash as you're likely to find. Even
keeping to this basic method, though, there are some things
you can do differently. In some cases, you may be able to cut
a few corners without hurting your final product. But it is
important to know which corners you can cut safely. Every
moonshiner's situation is a bit different from the other man's,
and it makes plain sense to use what's most easily available.

Old School
As in any art, there are the modernists, and there are the
traditionalists. Moonshining has been going on for a long,
long time, and many of the methods that are common now
are fairly recent. Before Prohibition came along and turned
moonshining into a large-scale industry, there was more em-
phasis on quality and less on time saving and production
boosting. The traditional moonshiner, from around the turn
of the century and before, supplied his friends and neighbors
exclusively—and himself. He had to live with his customers,
and he stood behind his product. There are still many moon-
shiners who go by the old ways.

61
 In the old days, sugar and yeast were very seldom used
in the mash. The corn was malted and the process relied en-
tirely on the fermentation of the natural sugar in the corn.
Usually two weeks must be allowed for the mash to ferment
without the boost of sugar and yeast.
The old school method has the drawback of a lot lighter
alcohol yield, as opposed to sugar and yeast. You can add a
quart of molasses to the mash if you want, and not outrage
tradition too seriously. The molasses will boost the alcohol
content a little, and it will smooth out the whiskey consider-
ably.
It's hard to find any measurable scientific advantage to
the old school of whiskey making, other than the rising cost
of sugar. But if you would rather take more time and do
things as they were once done—and make it "like they used to
make it"—then the old school might be just the thing.

MALTED CORN
The old timers still like to malt their corn first, omiting
sugar sometimes and the molasses. Malting grain converts
the starches into simple sugars which the yeast converts into
alcohol.
First you must sprout the corn. Start with whole, un-
ground corn seeds. Cover them with warm water, and leave
them in a warm, dark place for 24 hours. Then drain off the
water completely. The corn should be moist, but if there's too
much water in the barrel it will begin to rot. Rinse the seeds
with fresh water every day until the sprouts have grown a
good two inches. A cheesecloth or screen can be used for drain-
ing. When the sprouts are ready, you should spread them in
the sun or under a sun lamp to dry.

62
 When the sprouted corn has dried, it should be ground
up into a nice, chunky, granulated texture. Traditionally you
would take it to the local miller who would exchange his ser-
vices for yours. If you like the primitive ways, a mortar and
pestle will do. Very slowly. A hand grain mill such as the Coro-
na, or a coffee grinder will do also. Very slowly. Many super-
markets have large electric coffee grinders for the use of their
patrons. If you do it that way, be prepared to explain to the
manager what you're doing with twenty five pounds of crack-
ed corn in the machine if it gets clogged.
A common way to simulate the malted flavor is to add a
one quart can of unflavored malt syrup—the kind you'd use
for brewing beer. You can find it in a dusty corner of the
general store or a place which deals in beer-maker's supplies.
This is not a necessary ingredient to your mash, but it adds
a nice touch.

Brandies and Liquors

While traditional moonshine in the United States has
been mainly associated with grain whiskey, it should be borne
in mind that a broad variety of alcoholic beverages can be
distilled from other organic plants and their fruits. The prime
requisite is that the sugar content of the fruit or vegetable
be sufficient to induce a natural fermentation process. Gener-
ally speaking, most fruits contain more natural sugar than
vegetables do, hence are more often used for making brandies
and liquor. By definition and common usage, the word "bran-
dy" implies a beverage distilled from fruit, while the word
"liquor" covers just about any drink that has been distilled
from fermented plant matter.

63
 Most brandies are distilled from pure wines, although
some—considered "inferior brandies"—are made from a vari-
ety of naturally fermented vegetable matter. Cognac, for
example, may be distilled from all manner of refuse from the
grape plant. The most common whiskeys are made from corn,
barley, oats or rye wheat. Vodka, as originally made in Rus-
sia, was distilled from fermented potatoes, alth'ough most
commercial vodka made in the U.S. today is pure grain alco-
hol. Folks the world over have made liquor from such things
as pumpkins, turnips, cabbages, or almost any available over-
ripe vegetable matter. We've even heard of such outrageous
desperation as distilling garbage into an alcoholic beverage!
In no way do we recommend such outlandish resources,
but we would like to introduce you to some of the tastier
beverages that can be fermented and distilled in accordance
with the traditional moonshine techniques. In any case, what-
ever the origin of your liquor, the first step is always the
preparation and fermentation of the mash.
Brandies
There are two methods for making fruit mash. The first
is the natural fermentation method. This is basically nature's
way of making wine. For example, you can fill a barrel with
pure apple cider (with no preservatives added) and let it fer-
ment naturally in its own good time. That is, without adding
any ingredients like sugar and yeast to hasten the process.
When it has fermented, before it starts to turn to vinegar,
which you can tell with a hydrometer, and when its alcohol
content has reached its peak, pour it in your still and run it
off. What you'll get from this hard cider is apple jack, one of
the finest fruit brandies man has ever distilled. It's down-
right heaven when it's heated with a bit of stick cinnamon, a
few cloves, cardamum seeds, and a dab of fresh ginger root.

64
 The second method for preparing fruit mash is to hurry
it with yeast and sugar. In your 55-gallon mash barrel, add
40-50 gallons of water, then five or ten gallons of pitted,
squashed, ripe (or over-ripe) fruit. You can use plums, peach-
es, pears, dates, raisins, grapes, pomegranates, whatever. Add
ten pounds of sugar and a half pound to a pound of yeast.
The process is the same as with corn mash, except you omit
the molasses and malt. Also, you won't put the fruit in a gun-
ny sack. Instead, you have to strain the fruit out through a
clean cloth before pouring the mash into the still.
You can use your imagination to combine various com-
patible fruit flavors to produce some exquisite taste treats.
There's no doubt about it, fruit brandies are the nectar of the
gods! Near the end of this book you'll find more about various
kinds of spirits that folks have concocted and gotten wasted
on all over the world.

65
66
 CHAPTER FIVE
THE COUNTRY RUN
The process of distilling the pure whiskey from corn
mash, is a fairly exacting craft that will call for you to be on
top of things for an extended period of time. Once you start
heating the mash, and consequently start the run, you don't
have much time or leeway to do anything but tend the still.
There might be long periods of rest, but you never can tell
when they will end, so you leave the still site at the risk of
blowing the whole operation. It would be wise to check, and
double check, every aspect of your situation—from equipment,
to the weather, and everywhere in between before you start
your run. Be sure that everything is ready and in good work-
ing order.

THINGS TO HAVE READY

The Flake Box, or Condenser
First, make sure your condenser is properly set up to
operate. If you need to do any trenching to carry off the ex-
cess water do it well before you start the run. You won't have
time once you've started cookin'. It's pretty frustrating, not
to mention dirty, to be sloshing around in the mud while
you're makin'.

67
 Also you will have to be sure of having plenty of water
available to cool the condenser for possibly days at a time.
A trial run with your flakebox is a good idea. If your conden-
ser is wooden, it will swell the barrel and tell you if the water
supply will last, and provide enough circulation to cool the va-
pors. Play around with the circulation of cold water into the
barrel and get the rate of flow adjusted so that the water
fills the barrel at the same rate it leaves, keeping the water
level at the same height.

Fire Wood
You'll want to have a good supply of wood handy. Two
or three runs could use up to even a quarter of a cord. Since
temperature control is a vital factor in making a good batch
of corn likker, you'll want a variety of shapes and sizes, pos-
sibly even different kinds of wood, dry, stacked, and ready.
Generally most hardwoods are best for a steady, controlled
flame. Dense western madrones and manzanita and eastern
oaks are especially good for maintaining a steady, even, hot
flame. These, when properly prepared and cut to several dif-
ferent widths and lengths, can be tossed on the bed of coals
and, voila', you have the desired flame.

68
 Every geographical area has its own unique kinds of
available firewood. If you heat your home by wood you'll know
pretty much what to use. If not, ask around. Do some research
in the library. You might want two or three varieties of slow
and fast burning woods to give you the degree desired. It
would be far better to work an extra hour cutting fire wood
and not use it than not to have enough. There will be no time
to run out into the woods with your axe by the time you run
low on wood.
Clean Equipment
The quality of your product is going to be dependent in
part upon the cleanliness of the still and condenser. While your
mash is fermenting is a good time to be scrubbing down your
equipment thoroughly with baking soda and a stiff scrub-
brush. And then, of course, rinse thoroughly. This applies to
the buckets (or whatever) for moving the mash to the still,
catch bottles, and naturally, the still.
Miscellaneous Tools and Supplies
Bring along a good supply of matches, a clean tablespoon,
and a proof vile, all required for the Proof and Purity tests
described in this chapter.
Don't try to start your run without the tools you'll need
for opening, and assembling and disassembling the different
components that make up the still. Also whatever clamps and
fittings you've rigged for your particular still. Some hot pads,
pot holder or heavy leather gloves, will save many burns and
curses. The equipment gets HOT! Bring light for the late
hours as any run is very likely to continue through at least
one night. So be prepared for some time spent with this pro-
ject. Bring something to smoke if you need it, coffee, and some
grub of course. Incidently the firebox can serve as a wonder-
ful oven for baking spuds and things like that.

69
 Mash
It seems pretty obvious that in preparing for a run, the
mash is the main determining factor as to when to start. It
should be fairly close to the still, or have some sort of method
worked out so the mash, when ready, can be easily transported
to the kettle. As all the action on the surface of the working
mash barrel begins to slow, and the mash is reaching peak al-
cohol content, all your equipment, cleaned and ready, should
be there and just waitin' for some action.
SETTING UP
Still Assembly
Set all of the parts of your still together, clean as a whis-
tle. All valves checked? All shut? Sure would be awful to be
filling your pot and then discover, after inquiring about the
snails pace progress you're making, that the last twenty gal-
lons of mash have run right through the still and onto the
ground, as fast as you can fill it, and that, because you for-
got to close the drain valve at the bottom of the pot. Listen to
the voice of experience. Be prepared. After your first run,
you'll know more of what to expect the next time. Every run
you do will have its common points. Every run you do will
be different. Not a whole lot of boredom in this game.
Proceed to assemble the remaining still parts, connecting
all fittings tightly (being careful not to strip any fittings.)
Use either the rubber or cardboard gasket you've made
for the cap-to-kettle connection. Secure the cap in place and
close for the duration of the run. Instead, you can use a paste
of flour and water to seal this joint. To do this simply make
a dough, thinner than for bread, and lay globs along the lip
of the pot and set the cap firmly in place, squeezing out ex-
cess glop, and clamp tightly. As the still heats up, the flour
and water paste dries, and makes a pressure tight, self sealing
gasket. You must, logically, bring some flour if you decide to
go this route.
70
 If your mash is worked off, and your equipment is ready,
it is time to start. You can't fool around now. It's only a
matter of hours before the mash begins its next metamor-
phosis. It will either begin to turn the alcohol to vinegar, heav-
en forbid, or it will now be transformed into the country cure-
all.
When running only half a barrel at a time, it is a good
idea to begin running the first half just a little before the
mash has completely stopped working, say two or three hours.
This way, by the time you're finished with the first and ready
for the second half, the 'ripe' mash will not have been waiting
so long and will have less of a chance to go sour. O.K. ? Let's
do it!

THE RUN
Pour the first half of the mash in the inlet hole to fill
your still. Remember to leave some room (at least four inches)
between the mash level in the pot, and the top of the side
walls. This is, again, to ensure that the boiling head and foam,
while cooking, will not get up into the cap and connecting
tubes thus clouding the batch and blowing it.
The Fire
Begin by building a roaring fire in the heater box. You
first have a large volume of cold liquid to heat, which will
take same time. Second, it is best to have a good bed of coals
established by the time the brew begins to reach its running
temperature. This will enable you to throw a stick or two in,
have them ignite quickly, burn evenly, and, combined with
draught control, should give you a pretty good hand over
the situation.

71
 Never build a fire under an empty pot, or leave it on the
fire between loading and draining, for more than a few min-
utes at a time, if at all. This could very easily result in your
beautiful copper still falling apart before your very, crying,
eyes, as the solder melts, leaving you with a pile of odd shaped
sheets of copper, and not even some hooch to drown your
sorrows in.
It might take anywhere from two to six hours to get the
full kettle up to the running temperature (173). This is one of
the few times during the run where you will have some safe
time to eat or take care of last minute business. You can leave
for a while, but it is never good to be away from the still for
more time than is absolutely necessary. Keep a close eye on
that fire.

The Working Condenser

Fill the condenser and regulate the flow now. The trial
run, when setting up the equipment, should have given you
some idea of what to expect. Play around with it till it is
just right and check it periodically during the run. If some-
thing should mess up and the condenser goes dry, the alcohol
will continue on out of the condenser as a vapor and escape
into the air, doing nobody much good at all and, in fact, de-
feating the purpose of the venture completely.
The Country Run
As the mash approaches runnin' temperature, you'll want
to start cutting the flame back gradually, giving less and less
heat as the temperature gets closer to 173 degrees. This is a
very critical time in the run. If you don't cut back your heat
fast enough, you could overshoot the mark immediately, get-
ting off to a poor start if not blowing the whole show. If you

72
 cut back too fast and too much, it might take hours to regain
control and bring it back up to runnin' temperature. Practice
makes perfect. If you don't have any practice behind you then
keep in mind the principle and object of each phase of the
operation and use your head. There is no magic involved. Just
a goal, method, and the means.
The liquid is getting hot now and is starting to give off
steam which has no place to go but through the system. The
steam will begin to build up pressure and move slowly through
the tubes, seeking its way into your bottle. You can follow
the progess here by simply feeling the connecting tubes and
different parts of the still with your hands. Since copper is
such a good conductor of heat, you will be able to know exact-
ly how far and fast the vapors move through the apparatus.
If they are moving more than an inch every five or ten min-
utes, chances are that you are heating too fast.
One old trick for marking the progress of the steam to
the condenser at the beginning of a run is to take candles or
slabs of butter and stick them on the connecting tube just as
it enters the condenser, and at various places in between if
desired. This way, when the tube gets hot (and the tube gets
HOT), the wax will melt, and the candle will fall, alerting the
moonshiner that the vapors have entered the cooling box and
are therefore condensing, and that the whiskey will soon begin
to drip and all is well.
By the time the steam has pushed its way into the flake
box, and has begun to condense, the liquid firewater is col-
lecting up the low curves and dips of the 'worm' as it twists
its way through the flake box and into your bottle. As the
flow of steam is steady now, or should be, the remaining pres-
sure and steam must get by the liquid blocking the tube in

73
the low spots and makes a sort of rhythmic glug—blub-blub—
glug sound, which you can hear by placing your ear next to
the end or tail of the tube.
If you have got your head that close to the end of the
tube, and can hear the stuff gurgling, then you will undoubt-
edly notice, without forewarning, that there is a particularly
sweet and certainly heavenly scent breathing gently from this
wonderful contraption, which by now has taken on a character
and life of its own. Looks sort of like the tin man from Oz.
Odd? Wait till one night, after two or three consecutive
nights of fire tending and extensive sampling, you find your-
self answering questions and debating relevant subjects, only
to suddenly realize that there is no one there but you and your
bud—uhhh- I mean still.
Not too long after the glugs and smells will come the
first drops. They are probably water from rinsing the coil
just before the run, and any moisture which condensed during
the heating of the kettle. The drops will come slowly, at first
sporadically, and then gradually develop into a pattern or
rhythm of sorts. Not a metronomic, steady rhythm, but a
combination of steady drips and a short light 'piss' or stream.
Moderate dribbles.
All of a sudden one of these drops is going to be the real
stuff and you can bet your beans—there's no mistaking it!!

THE WHISKEY
Just to be safe (and I can hear the groan of disapproval
and arguments now), on the first run, and especially the first
time you use your shiny new still, let's throw away the first
ounce into the fire. It should toss up a nice flame, yup, that's
skunk juice alright!

74
 Start collecting it and get ready to run some tests to
gauge 190 proof whiskey. You'll need this information to com-
pare to all your later Proof and Purity tests when cutting
your brew and deciding on the strength and volume desired.
From here on, you will be running these P + P tests periodically
throughout the run. If you're into it, a little book of notes
might prove useful at first, or even possibly provide a log
to compare future runs and observations.
First, you should understand the difference between
Proof and Percent. It could be confusing if these terms were
not understood. The easiest way to remember is that the per-
cent (say, for example, 50 percent) of alcohol, in a liquid, is
exactly that (50% or half the volume). That is very simple
but many folks tend to confuse the proof of a beverage with
the actual percentage of alcohol in it, and vice-versa. The
proof is simply twice the percent. Fifty percent alcohol in a
drink is 100 proof. Simple, isn't it?
Meanwhile, the whiskey is spurting regularly and steadily
into your jug. If everything has gone right so far, what you
are now catching is 190 proof (95%) ethanol. It is as strong
as it will ever be. A drop or two on the tongue will verify this
last statement. That is the first and most obvious test, also
the most inaccurate, and should prove to be the most fre-
quently used test. At the same time, it gets more and more
inaccurate each time it is done. Taste and experience the new
potion and then let's get down to business. It may seem like
a good time to celebrate, but you've only just begun. A "Yaaa-
hooooo' or two would be appropriate now. A taste or two won't
hurt. But you must keep your wits about you-the whole batch
is at stake.
Again, the first drops and up to the first pint or so that
you get should be 190 proof. After that, the proof should
start decreasing steadily as the run progresses. In order to

75
keep track of the diminishing proof, you can now take the P +
P tests with the 190. Using the results as a base, you can com-
pare the rest of the test results taken at regular intervals and
estimate the approximate proof of the stuff. You'll need to
know the proof to determine when to do your second and
third (if any) runs, when to quit, and how strong you want it.

THE P + P TESTS
The first three tests will involve igniting the sample. The
procedure is the same, but you will look for three different
reactions. NOTE: ALL tests should be done with a sample
taken directly from the tube and not from the collective catch
in the bottle. These comparative tests should be done at timed
intervals (every 10-20 minutes or so), and with a fresh sample
each time.
76
 P + PTest No. 1
Take a clean tablespoon and bend it so it will sit on
a table with the bowl of it level. Fill it with a test sample.
Then light a match and bring it up slowly to the spoon. You
should notice here how easily the alcohol ignites. 190 proof
will have no problem at all. Any sample which is of 100 proof
or less, will not ignite in the spoon. It follows then that as it
gets more difficult to light the sample, the proof would get
proportionately lower. If you can not ignite the sample with
at least three matches then you can easily assume that it is
less than 100.
If you wish to know how close a sample which will not
ignite is to 100 proof, pour a fresh sample on a flat surface
like a clean plate. If you can get it to light here, then it is
75-to-100. The sample would be below 75 proof if it would
not light, spread out over a flat surface. This means that more
than half of the total volume of the sample (and consequent-
ly everything the still is now producing), is something other
than whiskey. Although the sample obviously has some alco-
hol in it, it is the lowest grade, and that "something other
than whiskey" that it's mixed with is undesirable, to say the
least, in your liquor.
P+PTest No. 2
Using the same procedure as in the beginning of P + P
No. 1, ignite fresh test sample. Notice the color and clarity of
the flame. Pure 190 will burn a steady, pure blue flame. The
color should be light and almost transparent, but even. Any
shades of yellow around the edge of the flame would indicate
impurities in the sample. A heavy yellow "beard" on the flame
would mean a heavy fusel oil content, and that the sample

77
should be considered toxic—unfit for human consumption—
yechhhhh! This stuff is commonly known as 'popskull' for the
enormous discomfort generously doled out to the cranial
vicinity by the "yellow bearded demon." Very similar to having
an eight pound splitting maul planted in your forehead.

P + PTest No. 3
Again igniting the test sample as before, observe how
long the flame burns. Time it. The longer it burns, the higher
the proof. The shorter it burns, the lower the proof. Mark
down the time for the first sample (190) and use it as a base
marking the times for the rest of the samples taken at regular
intervals.

P + PTest No. 4
For this test, catch about a teaspoon or so of the 190
proof juice in the palm of your hand. Rub your hands together,
spreading the sample all over your hands. Hold your hands
at arm's length with palms facing you. Slowly bring your
hands towards your face and inhale slowly and gently. Notice
at what point (how far your hands are away from your face)
you can smell the alcohol evaporating from your hands. It
will be X number of inches for each test. Keep a record of this
and the results of your other tests for the first few times and
you'll discover a feel for it. In a short while you should be
able to guess the proof of a sample, using this method, with
amazing accuracy.

P + PTest No. 5
For this test you'll need a clean "proof vile." This is a
small clear glass bottle (1 oz.) with a tight cap. Fill the vile
about half full with the test sample. The whiskey should be as
clear as the clearest water. Crystal pure and colorless. Now
78
give the vile a vigorous shake or two, and hold it level or set
it on a table. As the bubbles from the shake disappear, a
chain of uniform bubbles lines up in a circle around the inside
of the vile, on top of the sample, resembling a "string of
pearls." This chain of bubbles is known as a "bead." The bead
of a sample is graded according to: 1. uniformity - all the
same size, shape, etc. 2. size - the larger the better. 3. dura-
tion - how long they last. As you probably guessed already,
the higher the grade, the higher the proof. 190 would hold
longest, the beads being identical in size, and being the larg-
est. Also, as in the other test, samples that hold no bead at all
indicate less than 100 proof. Pretty simple now, isn't it?
Cutting And Proof Control
As already mentioned, the first stuff to come out should
be close to 190 and decline as the run progresses. As all the
catch from a particular run is mixed in your jug, it will "cut"
or dilute itself as the steadily weakening spirits are mixed.
A sample from the collective catch, your jug, will always be
stronger than a sample from the worm at that particular
time.
A good cut for your whiskey would have it over 100
proof, but palatable enough so as not to remind one of paint
remover working over an old chair as it sears down your
throat.
This would put a good batch somewhere in the vicinity of
from 110-130 proof. This suggested "ideal" range for the en-
tire batch, coincidently, is right about where your catch bottle
would be if you stop catching when the tube sample tests out
at lOOp. In other words, the collective sample is always strong-
er than the worm sample, thus insuring a batch proof of 110
—or more when the worm proof is stopped at 100.

79
 You can make your whiskey as hot or as mild as your
taste prefers. Since everybody has a right to his own opinion
about how good whiskey should taste, you're pretty much on
your own when it comes to deciding what proof your white
mule should be. Try the previously suggested proof first, and
adjust to your taste accordingly.
What you have collected so far is first run "green" whis-
key. It's drinkable, and according to the fast-buck boys of
Prohibition days, it's "sellin' whiskey." But the self-respecting
moonshiner is concerned with quality. And he seldom stops
after one run.

Reruns or Doublin'
To properly finish the distilling of good corn whiskey,
the entire batch you collected from the first run should be
"doubled." This means you're going to further distill and re-
fine your product. Doublin' makes for greater purity, mellower
taste, simply better moonshine. You're going to lose just a
little volume, but if you're going to be a true moonshiner,

80
 you'll be more interested in quality than quantity. Many mak-
ers will distill their whiskey three times to get it smooth and
pure.
The way to double your whiskey is to open the inlet hole
on your pot (being careful to let the pressure off easy), and
to pour your entire first-run catch back into the played out
mash. Seal up the inlet hole. You are going to extract it
again. The process is the same. Very simple.
The alcohol, already distilled from the mash once, is
going to react a little differently this time. It's already seen
the outside world and it's once removed. It is more highly con-
centrated alcohol than before, and a higher grade. It will re-
main mostly at the top of the mash, for it floats on water,
and will consequently vaporize more rapidly. It will fill your
jug faster and it will hold a higher proof longer. This time,
you might get another half pint or so of 190 before the proof
starts to decrease. It might fill your jug with more of a
stream than a dribble this time, using the same amount of
heat, and therefore takes less time.
This also means when the proof starts to diminish, it
drops off a lot faster than the first-run whiskey. Because of
this you should take your P and P tests more frequently
(every 5 or 10 minutes or so).
When the proof test says it's time to quit, then your pro-
duct should be another grade higher, considerably smoother
and definitely purer. You might have a decrease in volume,
but anything you lose is something you didn't want.

Third Run
This is good whiskey. It'll do the trick and it won't make
you sick. Nothing to scoff at and possibly something to brag
about.
But if that flame of the connoisseur, be it a flicker or an
inferno, persuades you to make the finest on the block, then
it's time to do the third run.
And the third verse is the same as the first—or second.
You pour it back in and you take it back out. And along with
81
all these other amazing coincidences, it will come out three
times faster and hold three times longer at 190.

Cleaning Up
No matter how much you've sampled, no matter how
blurred your world is, no matter how tired and hungry you
are, there are certain things that really must be done to se-
cure your equipment before you start the party.
Kill your fire. Otherwise you'll scorch the mash in the
pot, making it nearly impossible to clean.
Shut down the water to your condenser and empty the
barrel.
Disassemble all the parts of your still. Empty out the sour
mash from the pot. It's best not to pour it out on the ground
or into the creek. The slop stinks like the devil, not only foul-
ing your nest, but also creating the danger of a bust. The
odor is most distinctive. Every revenooer knows that smell.
Why lead him right to your still ?
Rinse out all the parts of your still with water before it
gets crusty and hard to clean. Scrub out any burned sediments
or scum. If you don't do it right away, you'll have a big job on
your hands later. Use baking soda and a good scrub brush,
then rinse everything thoroughly.
Flush out the condenser tube with clear water. Then fill
it completely with vinegar or with the played-out sour mash,
and cork both ends of the tube if you plan to store it for
awhile. This little move will prevent the buildup of "blue vit-
riol" (crystalline cupric sulfate), a most undesirable deposit
to have in your still!
O.K., those are the necessities. Depending on how safe you
feel about leaving your equipment at the makin' site, you're
free to go your way.
Have a nice evening. Bear in mind that even if you're an
individual who can really handle his hooch, moonshine is more
powerful than the stuff you've been drinking from the local
gin mill. Go a bit easy until you learn how much mountain
dew you can handle before you knock yourself lower than a
buckwheat flapjack. „9
83
 CHAPTER SIX
BOTTLING AND AGING
Since mountain dew evaporates pretty fast, you'll want
to get it tightly bottled up soon after your run. And since
green corn likker can taste pretty hot, we'll tell you about a
few tricks for aging the stuff to take the sharp edge off the
flavor. As a common rule, the longer whiskey ages, the better
it tastes.
Not that green first-run corn likker isn't drinkable. Far
from it. But it gets smoother as it ages. There are several
things you can do to improve the taste of your 'shine.
First, you should make a simple filtering system, using
coneshaped filter papers like the Melitta coffee maker uses.
Make a triple-decker sandwich of charred white oak or hick-
ory chips between three of these papers in a funnel, run the
whiskey directly from the condenser through the filter into
your jug. The biggest problem you'll have with this device
will be in finding some good dry white oak or hickory, both of
which are eastern woods, long used for making furniture and
tool handles. There's not that much of it around these days,
but if you can get ahold of an old oak or hickory axe handle
or a busted chair, you can whittle off a pile of shavings with
a pocket knife. Grandma'd probably turn over in her grave
if you carved up her old spinning wheel. You'll figure some-
thing out. Put the chips in an oven or a frying pan and heat
them until they start to smoke—almost until they catch fire.
Be careful not to ignite the chips. Just brown them.
84
 You'll need enough chips to make two or three layers about
half an inch thick between the filter papers. Put the filter in
a big funnel and let the whiskey flow through. The juice will
take on a slightly reddish tint—sort of like commercial whis-
key. Most fusel oils or impurities, if any, will stay in the fil-
ter. The whiskey will taste softer.
One triple set of filters ought to be enough for a fifty-gal-
lon mash run. If you're making more than five or six gallons
of whiskey, you'll probably want a fresh filter system.

85
 Bottling
As to the bottling of your product—a word to the wise.
There's something like a triple federal rap if you get caught
reusing commercial liquor bottles. Of course, if you're makin'
illegal whiskey, you're in trouble anyway, but why compound
the rap? Besides, who wants to put new moonshine in old
bottles?

86
 You can bottle your corn likker in your five-gallon mixing
jug if you want to. It should have a tight-fitting cap. You
may find it a bit awkward pouring from a 5-gallon jug into
shot glasses, in which case we'd recommend smaller jugs or
bottles (or larger glasses). Whatever you put it in, be sure
it's clean. There's nothing that brings a moonshiner down fas-
ter than makin' a crystal clear batch of pure corn spirits, then
seeing little specks of crap floating in it from a dirty bottle.
Good moonshine is always clean.
Clear glass 12-ounce beer bottles make handy containers
for your whiskey. They can be tightly sealed with a bottle
capper (which is easy to find and buy). It's an ideal size to
carry around in your overalls at a pig roast or square dance.
And it can compare in alcohol content to about a fifth of com-
mercial whiskey, or get eight of your friends as drunk as
hooty-owls.
Folks in the mountains of the South like to put up their
squeezin's in big-mouth pint mason jars—the kind grandma
used to use to put up her peach preserves and canned black-
eyed peas. If you're into nostalgia and tradition, by all means
use them. They seal up nice and tight.
Ceramic or crockery moonshine jugs are nice, too, if you
can find them. There are even some nice little wooden wine
kegs on the market with wooden spigots, but many of these
are lined with paraffin wax, which you don't want. Be sure
wooden kegs are hardwood. In the old days, the moonshiners
usually kept their private family batch in the "teedum barrel."
That was the best stuff off the still, kept around for special
occasions. The teedum barrel was usually an "aging" barrel,
too, which means it was oak with the inside charred.
Charred oak barrels provide the most effective aging for
moonshine. Hickory works fine, too. The thing is, you see,
whiskey won't age one bit in a glass container in a thousand
years.

87
 But given some time and a good barrel, maybe a dry
cellar and a good batch to start with, you can come up with
an outrageous keg of some fine moonshine. Many strange
and wonderful things will be taking place over those aging
years, or months, whatever the case may be. The traditional
white oak barrel, aside from the color (one of the identifying
and common characteristics of aged whiskey), will impart fla-
vor and tannin substances to the whiskey.
Another amazing thing that happens is that any water,
given enough time and the right climate (say a dry cellar),
will evaporate through the wood, increasing the alcohol con-
tent proportionately. The average rate of increase of proof
in aging whiskey is about one proof per year. This might

88
not sound like a very good annual interest rate, besides the
fact that you are losing volume at the same rate that the
proof increases, but consider the fringe benefits! Once again
we are assuming (or more rightly, hoping) that you are striv-
ing to make the finest spirits you can produce. And aging
assures the finest.

Bottle Aging
There is a trick you can use if you can't get the aging-
barrel trip together. Put a handful of charred chips of white
oak or hickory right into the bottle if you expect to have the
whiskey around a little while. You see, the oak actually ab-
sorbs the fusel oils out of the whiskey so it accomplishes the
same thing—to a lesser degree as in a charcoal barrel. It will
cut the sharp edge and any smell of sour mash. If your likker
still has that edge or that smell, it's a bad batch. You might
try filtering it one more time through the charred oak chips.
It will go down the throat a lot easier. The more exposure the
moonshine gets to charred oak, the better it will "age."

89
 Barrel Aging
Aging in an oak or hickory barrel is the best way to im-
prove the flavor of your whiskey. It takes a bit of doing, but
it's well worth it. See if you can find a good barrel that doesn't
leak. A five or ten gallon capacity should do it. The last Whole
Earth Catalogue or Mother's General Store (Box 506, Flat
Rock, North Carolina 28731) will lead you to places to buy
them. Prices for new ones are running, at this writing, from
about $15 to $35.

90
 What you'll do with the barrel is to first remove the top
three hoops and take off the lid. Get a good bed of hot coals
going in a fireplace or barbecue pit and chuck them inside
the barrel. Rotate the barrel slowly, and keep replenishing the
hot coals until you have charred about a quarter inch deep
on the inside of the barrel. When you see the charred area
starting to crack and split, you've done enough. That's one
way. You could use an oxy-acetylene torch, or just keep burn-
ing old newspapers in the barrel until it's nicely charred.
Draw the top of the barrel back together with a rope
and fit the three hoops back in their original position—with
the lid in place. We don't mean to make it sound all that easy.
Removing the hoops and lid, then replacing them, is a bit of a
chore that will call for patience and ingenuity—maybe even
some special cooperage tools. An old auto leaf-spring can be
helpful in providing a hard edge to drive the hoops down into
place with a hammer. When you're done, you've got a really
fine old traditional aging barrel.
Soak the outside of the barrel in water to seal it up tight
again. The warmer the water, the better. Cold water works
all right. It's just slower. After charring the barrel, nothing
but whiskey should go inside.
You'll need a couple of holes (called bung holes). One
near the edge of one end, another on the side in the center.
Now you're ready to start aging the whiskey. Pour it into the
barrel and seal up the holes. Start kicking it around. Shake
it. Turn it. Jostle it. Move it. Rock it. Roll it down the stairs.
Every time you walk by it, give it some action.
We've heard tell of folks tying the aging barrel to grand-
ma's rocking chair. As she sat and rocked, the whiskey slosh-
ed around inside that charred oak barrel, getting mellower
every minute. It's a fact: the more it sloshes, the more it's
aging—and the more it ages, the better it gets. Maybe you'll
be one of those moonshiners who can put aside some of that
corn likker and let it age a few years. Most of us aren't that
patient.

91
92
 There's a story about an airplane pilot over in France.
During the first big war he helped out some French folks, so
they gave him their grandpa's old teedum barrel that contain-
ed 100-year-old brandy.
Now, it seems his plane crashed on a deserted island. All
he had was the fine old barrel of brandy. A few days later,
when a ship came along to rescue him, he staggered and waved
his rescuers away, shouting, "Go away! I'm not finished yet!"
Who can blame him?
Some enterprising moonshiners have used their inven-
tiveness to design "artificial aging machines" to keep whis-
key moving in the barrel. With such devices, they can "age"
whiskey the equivalent of six months in only three days' time.
The idea is to figure out a way to rotate or agitate the barrel
effortlessly. One way is to float the barrel in a tub of hot
water. A firebox under the tub provides enough steam to pen-
etrate the barrel and swell the wood. An overhead motor with
a belt running down around the barrel keeps it rotating night
and day until the moonshine is smooth and mellow.
You might try putting the barrel in a gently agitating
washing machine filled with hot water. Whatever ?
The main points to remember about bottling and aging
are: clean bottles, tight caps, charred hardwood barrels, keep
it moving— and the longer it ages, the better it gets.
Enjoy!

93
94
 CHAPTER SEVEN
KITCHEN STILLS
Now that you've learned all about how the traditional
moonshiner makes his tiger sweat, you'll be amazed at how
clean and simple it is to run a batch in the comfort and pri-
vacy of your own kitchen. The equipment is simpler and easier
to get together. You won't have to put out as much cash. It
won't take nearly as long. It's a lot safer, since you have bet-
ter control over your heating and cooling systems. It's com-
pact. Compared to the complicated operation of the country
still, kitchen whiskey is as easy as baking a cake. You can
do it in one evening.
After a hard day at the cookie factory, just drop by the
health food store on your way home, and pick up your in-
gredients. Bring 'em home. Kick off your shoes and get out
of your city duds. Set up your still pot and condenser on the
stove and kitchen sink and start cookin'. You'll have time to
watch a little TV while the whiskey's makin'. During com-
mercials, you can slide in to the kitchen to see how things are
going. By bedtime you'll have enough whiskey for the group
when they drop in next weekend. And a night cap as well.
It's true, the kitchen still is the best thing since sliced
bread. It's quick, it's clean, it's cheap, it's safe, and there's
not much chance of calling attention to your activity. Of
course, there will always be the tell-tale stench of sour mash
95
96
in the air around. And you may be seen coming and going
with some rather peculiar apparatus. But by and large, you'll
find the kitchen run to be a bit of a breeze, and free of much
of the paranoia that is likely to accompany the outdoor moon-
shiner. Of course, your yield will be less with a smaller still,
but then it's easier to run more often than in the country.
And, for cappers, your corn squeezin's will be every bit as
good—if not better—than the whiskey made in the woods.
One word of caution to those who choose the kitchen
still. There are principles and guides in the material on coun-
try stills that will assure the success of your kitchen run. The
point is, that indoors or outdoors, you're going to be a moon-
shiner. You need to know all the basics of moonshining—so
read it all before you begin. 'Nuf said. Let's get on with it.

Things to Have Ready

Lay Out
Let's assume your kitchen has a stove and a sink with
cold running water. A gas stove is going to serve you better
than an electric stove, simply because you've got finer control
of your heat.
An electric stove will work fine if you've got the hang of
controlling the burners.

Mash Barrel
You'll need a pot or tub in which to ferment the mash.
It can be oak or other hardwood, crockery, glass or, if nothing
else, plastic. Don't use any metals, such as aluminum, iron or
galvanized metals, as they will cause a chemical creation of
toxic salts and impurities that can produce deadly popskull
instead of pure liquor. The capacity of your mash barrel
should be in proportion to your still capacity.

97
 Pot
The working principle behind every still is the same. The
ideal pot for the kitchen still is a 4 to 6 quart pressure cooker
of copper or, most likely, stainless steel. You'll need to make
a couple of simple modifications in the pressure cooker to
convert it to a working still pot, but they are easy to make.
First off, you'll need to pop out the pressure release
valve on the top of the lid. Here, a hole the size of your copper
tubing should be made and a piece about a foot long attached
at one end to this hole. This provides the exit route for the va-
pors as they leave the pot. Get yourself a set of fittings from
a plumbing or air conditioning supply outfit, or anybody who
deals with copper tubing. Secure one end of the tubing to the
lid of the pressure cooker. On the other end secure a standard
female fitting. This can be done with a couple of small
wrenches and a little care.
Curve the tubing gently in the middle to a 90-degree an-
gle. The other end of the tube will attach to your slag box.
If the cooker you find has a temperature gauge, fine. If
there is a pressure gauge on the lid of your pressure cooker,
remove it and replace it with a temperature gauge with a
range that includes from 100 degrees F. to 212 degrees F. You
can pick up one of these at a hardware store, restaurant sup-
ply or auto parts shop for just a few bucks.
If you use an old pressure cooker for your still pot, make
sure the gaskets are good so it will seal up tight. Scrub it
clean. There is your pot, with only one or two small modifica-
tions. See how easy?

98
 Slag Box
The principle of the kitchen slag box is the same as that
described for the country still. Essentially, it works to further
condense and purify the alcohol vapors as they travel from the
pot to the coil. The kitchen slag box can be a little smaller than
the one used in the country, because you're dealing with less
volume. But it must be made of copper (silver soldered) or
stainless steel.
Get it as clean and pure as you can. Attach threaded fit-
tings to your slag box to connect it between the pot and your
condenser.
You can make whiskey without a slag box, but its use is
highly recommended for purity and safety.
Condenser
For the kitchen, you'll need a miniaturized version of the
country still condenser. You'll need enough quarter-inch cop-
per tubing to run from the stove over to your kitchen sink,
plus about six to ten feet which will be spirally coiled down
into your condenser barrel with about a foot sticking out of
the lower end of the barrel for catching the juice. Since the
distance from stove to sink varies in every kitchen, you'll have
to measure your own layout to determine exactly how much
copper tubing you'll need. Better to get too much than not
enough.
Set your condenser barrel on the counter next to the sink
with the drain valve set in such a way that the overflow runs
off into the sink. Run a short piece of hose from the cold
water faucet into the top of the condenser barrel. You may
have to fool around a bit with the inflow and outflow to get
the water circulating efficiently. But it's a dream compared
to the country run, if you don't mind the low volume.
Incidentally, as long as you're operating in the conveni-
ence of a modern kitchen, you might try dropping ice cubes
in your condenser barrel during the run to increase the ef-
ficiency of the system. Again, it's sure a whole lot simpler
than country moonshining.
 The Mash
The ingredients for preparing your mash for the kitchen
run are going to be a little easier to get together than for the
country run, mostly because you'll be using smaller quantities.
For example, instead of buying 25 pounds of cracked corn
from the feed store, you can pick up a little bag from the
health food store, which won't attract as much attention. If
you're a little leery about questions from suspicious store
clerks, you can buy your corn, sugar, yeast and molasses from
separate stores. It's surprising how many folks are hip to the
purchase of that particular combination of products. "Whatcha
gonna do, make some moonshine?" they ask loudly. Some
people have no manners at all.
Here's a list of ingredients for the kitchen run. It makes
5-10 gallons of mash:
5-10 gallons warm water
2½-5 lbs. cracked corn
5-10 lbs. sugar
¼ lb. yeast
1 pt. molasses (or 1 cup unflavored malt)
You'll need a small gunny sack or other equally porous
bag to contain the corn. Also you'll need baking soda and a
scrub brush for cleaning out your mash barrel and still be-
fore you start the run. Plus, several common kitchen items
like pans, fork, spoon and such.
The mash is prepared and observed exactly as spelled
out for the country run. It's just on a smaller scale. Instead
of a big oak barrel, you can use a kitchen crock or tub. The
adding of the ingredients and the starter works in the same
order. The bubbling and foaming reactions taking place in
the mash should be the same.
As with the country run, you'll put the cracked corn in
a small clean gunny sack, allowing enough space in the bag
when you tie it off for the grain to expand to half-again its
original volume. Then soak it in warm water, until it's ready
for the starter.
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 Remember, you don't want to begin mixing your starter
(yeast and sugar) until you're ready for it—otherwise you'll
have the foamy stuff crawling all over your pant legs and
kitchen walls.
You'll notice when the mash first starts to work off, it
will have a darkish molasses color. After a while it will take
on a pale orange tint. Finally, when the mash is worked off
and ready for the still, it will be a kind of milky color.

Brandy
While we're on the subject of mash, one pretty nifty way
to make brandy is to pour a gallon of wine in your still pot
and run it off. Be sure it's real wine, though. There are a lot
of artifical wines on the market (those sweet fruit-flavored
test tube beverages to which alcohol is added rather than

101
 The Run
Get all your still parts clean as a whistle with baking
soda and lots of rinsing. When your mash is ready, get your
condenser water circulating well, then pour the mash into the
pot. Remember!!! You must leave two or three inches at the
top of the pot so the "puke" won't rise up into the copper
tubing.
Turn on the stove burner under the pot to a medium-low
heat. Watch the temperature gauge carefully. As the tempera-
ture of the mash begins to approach 173 degrees, level if off.
It might be a good idea to mark a red line on your gauge at
173, just to remind yourself that if you overheat the mash,
you blow the run. Temperature control is everything in this
game. Bring it up gradually to 173 and hold it there. Your
main occupation during this phase of the run is to watch the
temperature.
If you did your homework on the earlier chapters of this
manual, you'll know what to do. Of course, you're not going
to have to wait as long for your stove to heat up the mash
as the country boy does, so you'll be getting whiskey sooner.
Have your clean collecting jug or bottles ready near the sink
before the juice starts coming.
The same applies to the paraphernalia you'll need for
proof and purity tests. Have a clean spoon, matches and clean
proof vial handy so you'll know what kind of alcohol you're
getting. Because your volume is going to be smaller, you'll
be busy as a mammy possum making proof checks during the
run.
You'll want to have a good charcoal filtering system as
described in the material on aging and bottling. That should
all be set up and ready before you start the run.
Now, the "green" whiskey from your first run is going
to be pretty drinkable stuff, and a lot of beginners are going
to be tempted to call it quits right there and proceed to in-
dulge. The real moonshiner is going to resist that temptation,
102
however, and will pour what he's collected on the first run
back into the pot for "doublin's." In fact, he knows he'd end
up with purer, safer, smoother juice, if he runs it a third
time before shutting down his still. Sure, you'll lose just a
little in volume, but after all, you're interested in makin' the
finest quality whiskey possible, aren't you? Anyway, it's so
easy.
Once again, you've got all that cleaning up to do before
you get down to serious drinking. Otherwise you'll be run-
ning the risk of messing up your still for the next run. Keep
your act together until you're properly secured.
So, there's moonshining from fire to jug. In the country,
you'll be taking part in a good old traditional craft.

103
104
PART III

105
106
 CHAPTER EIGHT
SPIRITS
Spirits are spirits. Alcohol is alcohol. It'll all get you load-
ed, if you drink enough. But there are beverages and then
again there are beverages. E'very area of the world has
evolved its own special traditional drink—usually based on
generations of experience in distilling whatever plant matter
was abundant locally.
In the Mexican deserts the maguey plant, a variety of
the cactus-like mezcal family, grows in great profusion. The
Indians of the area long ago developed the distillation of te-
quila to a high degree. Tequila has become the national drink
of Mexico. It is customarily tossed down from a shot glass
or an equivalent swig from the bottle, with an alternate taste
of salt and then lemon or lime, to enhance its character. It's
hot stuff.
A veteran maker near the town of Saltillo told us that
Mexicans drink tequila, not to get drunk, but to get strong.
Infants are weaned on the stuff, nourishing them with
"macho" experience.
In recent years, with its successful importation to other
countries, tequila has become most popular in such cocktails
as the Margarita and the Tequila Sunrise (orange juice and
sloe-gin, or sometimes grenadine).
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 The people of Scotland claim to have invented the pro-
cess of distilling on the fog-laden moors. Scotch whiskey is
revered and imitated the world over, but somehow never
equalled. This is probably due to the limestone nature of the
water and the brisk air of Scotland. The old recipe itself is
simple: sprouted corn and barley (the drier the better) and
yeast. The secret of fine Scotch seems to be largely a matter
of artful blending, although the purity of the barley used in
the mash is felt to make a difference too. Seeds, husks and
dirt are carefully screened before fermenting. The malted
barley is spread in the sun and dried meticulously, then smoked
with burning peat moss. The malted barley then rests for a
couple of months. Instructions for the making of successful
Scotch Whisky (not whiskey) could fill a manual of greater
scope than this entire book. Somehow, nobody can make it like
the Scots can. A fine 20 year old Scotch is truly the "kiss of
the heather." To the connoisseur's way of thinking, it should
be sipped straight. It is popular drunk on the rocks, or with
soda or water. Any further dillution of a precious ancient
scotch would be sacrilegious. What a shock to have heard one
city lady order Chivas Regal and Coke! But that's the beauty
of it. There's a drink for everybody.
The Irish also claim to have been the first to distill liq-
uor, claiming it all started in the Emerald Isle over a thou-
sand years ago. The word whiskey derives from an old Gaelic
word "uisge," meaning whiskey, or "water of life." The main
difference in traditional Irish whiskey and Scotch is that Irish
mash contains, besides malted barley, a little wheat, oats and
rye. Also the Irish poteen (a little still pot) is run three times,
and the Scotch only two. Irish whiskey hasn't been produced
in such great quantities as Scotch, maybe because of the high
excise taxes, maybe because the distillers insist on using the
traditional small poteen. Irish, too, is best as a "neat" sippin'
whiskey, although in recent years it has gained popularity in

108
Irish coffee (with sugar and a layer of cream floating on
top). The folks of St. Patrick's land are fond of Irish Punch,
too. This is made by adding boiling water, lemon peel, and
sugar.
There's a grand old tale that Irish folks still tell about
a traveler who parked his horse at a public trough. After
drinking his fill, the plug keeled over in a drunken stupor. Soon
after, half of the town was at the trough, dipping out fine old
Irish whiskey—until somebody called the cops. It seems that a
local distiller was piping the illegal stuff through public
water pipes for secret bottling, but they got mixed up and
hooked into the wrong pipes. Now, they claim, the horses
don't get drunk anymore, but the people sure do.
Now, the story from the ancient and mystical land of
Egypt is something else again. There, instead of horses, it's
camels. Here too, some Egyptians insist it was their ancestors
who were the first to discrover distilled spirits from fermented
dates. This exotic brandy is called "buza," from whence comes
our word booze. Archaeologists have recently discovered
that the rectangular marble box in the king's chamber of the
Great Pyramid of Giza, once thought to be a sarcophagus,
was actually a receiving vat for buza, distilled in a golden
still pot, perched at the apex of the pyramid, with the con-
denser precisely placed at the critical coordinate point of
cosmic rays. Legend has it that the vibrations of this sacred
buza were such that its consumption was rigidly confined to
only the pharoahs of the Nile and the high priests of Ra.
In modern day Cairo, buza is drunk with a dash of vermouth
and an olive or a gherkin.
From the moist, tropical islands of the West Indies came
a product distilled from molasses, a by-product of sugar cane,
widely known as rum. Christopher Columbus brought cane
sugar back to Europe before 1500. Rum has been distilled in
the Caribbean since 1600. For several years, the British Navy

109
supplied its seamen with a daily ration of rum to boost mor-
ale. When morale got too high in the 18th Century, the Lord
of the Admiralty ordered the rum to be watered. This diluted
version of rum was known as grog.
Rum was, for a long time, the staple drink of pioneer
Americans. It was a major product of New England for gene-
rations. It is popular today for its versatility and compati-
bility with a variety of mixes. Since World War II, a lot of
folks have developed a taste for rum and Coca-Cola. Like
vodka, rum is good with vermouth, tonic, orange or tomato
juice or what have you.
From Northern Europe (probably Holland or England)
comes gin, a beverage originally made from barley, hops and
juniper berries. Today, there's a lot of confusion about what
really constitutes gin, as almost any grain spirits with an ever-
green bouquet are being passed off as gin. Whatever they're
putting in commercial gin these days, the only cure for a grim
gin hangover is gin. Sloe gin is a cordial made from the little
berries of the blackhorn bush, steeped in regular gin.
The fertile farm country of Russia gave birth to an abun-
dance of potatoes. When fermented, these spuds provide a
mash for the distillation of vodka. These spirits are tradi-
tionally freely drunk during and between meals in the cold
climes of the northland. Currently a popular hooch among
suburban housewives and junior executives, commercial Amer-
ican vodka has reached new lows in quality, as with most of
the cheaper American-made distilled spirits. Modern vodka
is mostly distilled as pure grain alcohol rather than organic
spud juice. Who knows anybody these days who ever tasted
real 'tater squeezins? There's no accounting for taste. Forty
million Americans can't be wrong, probably. Martinis, gibsons,
screwdrivers, and all sorts of soda pop mixes are popular with
vodka.

110
than grain spirits. Exotic brandies are distilled from all man-
ner of berries, barks, nuts, herbs, spices and flowers. The
list is long. It includes bananas, pineapples, papaya, roses, al-
monds, lemons, oranges, vanilla, kumquats, lavendar, cloves,
thyme, fennel, ginger, peppermint, elderberries, anise, dande-
lions and raisins, to say the least. A lot of folks just save all
their over-ripe fruits in a barrel and concoct a sort of tutti-
frutti brandy that can be mighty tasty.
Some more examples from around the world? Why not?
Kirsch, otherwise known as Kirschwasser or Schwarzwalder,
originated in Germany and Switzerland. It is made from unpit-
ted wild cherries. It is aged in barrels lined with paraffin so
as not to discolor the crystal clear liquid.
Then there's Tuica (pronounced tweeka), which derives
from the Transylvania Alps. The mash is made from a rare,
blood-red plum, first cultivated by Count Dracula in the 15th
century. Transylvanians traditionally drink it warmed to
about 98.6 degrees, with sugar and peppers.
The medieval peasants of Alsace got loaded—and still do
—on an exquisite beverage called Houx (pronounced "who").
It is made by fermenting the cheerful holly berry, then dis-
tilling its lively spirits. It is so appreciated by the discriminat-
ing, that a bottle can seldom or scarcely be purchased for
less than a twenty dollar bill. Only about 500 bottles of all
the Houx made in one year ever reach the market. All the rest
is drunk by its makers and their neighbors and kinfolk.
Owing to the fact that there are many more varieties
of fruits and grains, there are more varieties of brandies

111
112
 What About Whiskey?
Now, you're probably wondering why only about one per-
cent of all whiskey consumed in America in this day and age
is blended straight whiskey. According to Paragraph 37, Item
13-462A of IRS publication number 9-29S-4, a straight whis-
key is defined as "those spirits having been aged for two or
more years in a charred barrel under government supervision."
There's some other stuff about straight whiskey that is al-
most too esoteric to get into. And then there's blended whiskey
(stuff like Seagram's 7, Four Roses, Paul Jones and Old Ten-
nis Shoe). Commercial distillers sell it cheap and still make
a good profit—and still call it whiskey. By legal definition,
it must contain no less than 20% straight whiskey with pure
water and alcohol.
Bottled-in-Bond
Bottled-in-Bond Whiskey, on the other hand, has to be
straight, and has to be aged for at least four years in a ware-
house which is owned and operated by the United States Gov-
ernment, no less.
As you might guess, rye whiskey's main ingredient is
that variety of grain called rye.
Canadian
Canadian Whiskey was originated by our northern neigh-
bors. It is light-bodied, light-colored, and for a whiskey to
bear that name, it must have been aged for not less than two
years.
It was the distillers of Scotland and Ireland who first
brought whiskey to America. The one important contribution
to the list of spirits made by Americans was Bourbon, made
from a mash whose primary ingredient was the sweet corn
from the hills of Kentucky. By legal definition, the corn
doesn't have to come from Kentucky, but if it's not made from

113
corn mash, it's not Bourbon. Corn whiskey is the stuff tradi-
tionally made by the moonshiners of America. Likker which
has been distilled from fresh cracked corn and the leftover
liquid from played out mash is called Sour Mash whiskey.
Its distinctive sour mash flavor has made it a prized drink,
especially in the mountain south. An old Kentucky colonel
who had a reputation for sippin' a lot of sour mash whiskey
every day used to tell folks, "I ain't too fond of the taste of
the stuff, but, shucks, it's somethin' to do while I'm a gitin'
drunk!"
No matter where in the world spirits are made, no matter
what fruit, vegetable or grain is fermented, the distilled pro-
ducts are all strong drink. A lot of them can be made with a
simple still. They are all illegal to make in the United States.
For those who want to know something about the laws gov-
erning moonshine, the next chapter will put you straight—so
you'll know where you stand.
Fifty cents per gallon, thank you—or, no thank you, depend-
ing on one's point of view. It wasn't long before enterprising,
cost-conscious Colonial distillers decided there was a less ex-
pensive way to produce a jug of whiskey—fifty cents per gal-
lon less, to be exact—and have some fun doing it!

114
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116
 CHAPTER NINE
MOONSHINE AND THE LAW
No course on moonshining would be complete without one
word of caution from the United States of America: don't.
But if you do, keep this in mind: when spirits are distil-
led in this country, the federal government wants to know
about it, and when those spirits are bottled, sold, sipped or
fondled, the government wants a piece of the action. Any-
thing less than strictest compliance with relevant distillation
and sales laws is considered a crime of major proportions.
Penalties for convicted offenders may include heavy fines,
prison terms and property forfeitures.
If nothing else, the government's attitude in this matter
has the virtue of consistency. Imposition of excise taxes on
the sale of distilled spirits goes back to Colonial days. When
the New World's first saloon opened its doors in Boston in
1625, the king's agents were waiting with their hands out.

117
 Moonshining
As far as the king's share was concerned, if the crown's
revenue men could find the still, they could get their taxes.
But finding the still could be something of a problem. And
revenue agents, if they were prudent men, often decided it was
just too risky to look. If the king's excise taxes on whiskey
were as unpopular as history tells us they were, then the men
who collected these taxes must have been exceedingly unpop-
ular. Only a fool of an agent would have pursued his collection
duties far from the pale of the king's garrisons. Many who
did never came back, or did so in full tar-and-feathers regalia.
In short, moonshining thrived. Its status as a Colonial
criminal institution vanished with the American Revolution
in 1776; and for a brief fifteen years, while liberated colonists
worked to put together a viable form of government, spirits
were openly distilled and sold without taxes. Then, in 1794,
under the prodding of Secretary of the Treasury Alexander
Hamilton, Congress enacted into law an excise tax on the sale
of all distilled spirits. At that time, it must be remembered,
there was no income tax. Federal spending programs were
financed almost exclusively through excise and customs
taxes.
Whiskey distillers were outraged. Attempts to evade the
new tax were widespread and immediate. In Western Pennsyl-
vania, where for years farmers had routinely converted their
surplus grains into the production of spirits, opposition to
payment of the new tax quickly escalated into violence. Men
who years before had defied the king's demand for payment
of the whiskey tax, and then for years had distilled openly
without fear of tax or sanction, had no intention of paying
the tax now to an upstart government. And when the new
government persisted in sending revenue agents into the area
to collect these taxes, irate distillers decided tar and feathers
were the appropriate response.

118
 The agents kept coming, however. In July of 1794, some
five hundred farmers armed themselves and, in their most
definitive statement to date, attacked and burned to the
ground the home of General John Neville, the federal govern-
ment's regional inspector of the excise. This was too much for
President Washington. He promptly dispatched 13,000 troops
into western Pennsylvania to put down what history now calls
the "Whiskey Insurrection." And that was the end of it. Not
that hard-core rebels had any intention of paying taxes on
their distillation products. On the contrary. There is every in-
dication that defiance remained widespread. But confrontation
had brought about a change of tactics—and retreat to an
older, more durable approach to the problem of producing a
tax-free bottle of booze: again, moonshining.
Moonshining is a federal crime. In fact, it's hundreds
of different federal crimes woven together into a tightly knit
fabric called Title 26, Internal Revenue Code. The relevant
laws are administered by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms, an agency within the U. S. Treasury Department.
With respect to alcohol, the bureau has two primary functions:
regulatory enforcement of authorized distillation and sales,
and criminal enforcement of unauthorized distillation and
sales. The federal government's determination not to be cheat-
ed out of a sip's worth of tax is not exclusively directed at
moonshiners. Regulations and controls applicable to the legal
distillation industry reflect an almost hysterical concern for
cheaters.
For example, anyone who operates a legal distillery is
obligated by law to furnish agents of the bureau with keys
to all structures on the distillation premises. These agents, in
turn, are legally empowered to visit the premises and use
these keys "at all times, as well by night as by day." And—
"...whenever any officer, having demanded admittance, and
having declared his name and office, is not admitted into such

119
premises by the proprietor or other person having charge
thereof, it shall be lawful for such officer, at all times as well
by night as by day, to use such force as is necessary for him
to gain entry to such premises." In other words, break down
the door. Further, there is a provision that if revenue agents
suspect the legal distiller of siphoning off untaxed spirits
through hidden pipes, the agents may summarily tear the dis-
tillery to pieces in search of such pipes. And, if still unsatis-
fied, the agents may "break up the ground on any part of a
distilled spirits plant" in search of hidden conduits.
With hysteria at such a pitch in regard to suspected
cheating by legal distillers, it should come as no surprise that
illegal distillation—i.e., moonshining—leads to governmental
foaming at the mouth. In its nearly 200-year battle with moon-
shiners, the federal government has lost all perspective on the
problem. Moonshining is not a Communist conspiracy. Yet
even a casual perusal of relevant laws reflect an astonishing
degree of governmental paranoia about excise-tax evaders.
Fortunately, there is some indication that in recent years the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms has redirected its
vendetta-like attention from busting moonshiners, to mush-
rooming problems within its "Firearms" jurisdiction—speci-
fically, the growing illegal gun traffic among revolutionary
groups. For once the government has something real to worry
about. Yet, while this shift of emphasis has put moonshining
on a back burner, the unauthorized distillation of spirits, on
whatever scale, remains a crime, and bureau agents on the
scent have at their disposal an arsenal of laws.
If you set up a still, long before that first sip passes your
lips, you will have broken federal laws. The first crime is com-
mitted when the intent to distill without proper authorization
assumes any tangible form, such as the purchase of any ma-
terials or ingredients; or, in some cases, even sooner, as when
two prospective moonshiners discuss the details of their up-
coming joint venture. Once distillation begins, you can be

120
busted for any number of crimes, among them: possession of
an unregistered still, failure to make property application for
registration, failure to give proper bond, carrying on an ille-
gal distillation operation, distilling in a place not designated
by law, illegal bottling, sales, failure to pay the proper taxes,
possession of illegally distilled spirits, transportation of ille-
gally distilled spirits, purchase of illegally distilled spirits.
And so forth, ad nauseam. Each of these counts carries a po-
tential five-year prison term and $10,000 fine. Woven in
among the more obvious laws are carefully drawn, hypertech-
nical regulations which, if the occasion demands, can be
brought to bear. For example, when revenue agents arrive
at your still, they can bust you for your failure to display
"conspicuously" those signs approved by the Internal Revenue
Service, assuming, of course, that you have failed to display
these signs.
If, during any phase of your moonshine operation, you
arm yourself for any purpose, and the government can prove
this, you are in for particularly severe treatment. In addition
to any number of five-year prison terms arising out of your
actual distillation activities, you will probably be socked with
a ten-year stretch for the firearm. Unless the firearm is
a machine gun or sawed-off shotgun, in which case con-
viction can get you an extra twenty. Not only are guns a
crime, but the Internal Revenue Code specifically declares
it a crime for any moonshiner to have "in his possession or
in his control any device capable of causing emission of gas,
smoke or flames and which may be used for the purpose of
hindering, delaying or preventing pursuit or capture." The
penalty—ten years. Shades of A1 Capone. It's clear the United
States wants its money, and just as clear that, over the years,
there have been those willing to go to extreme lengths not
to pay it.

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 In its zeal to collect taxes on booze and to bust moonshin-
ers, the United States government has stretched the Consti-
tution to its limits and beyond. At one time a person's mere
"unexplained presence" at a still site could lead to his convic-
tion of "possession" of an unregistered still—a crime carrying
a potential five-year sentence. This was declared unconstitu-
tional. The United States Supreme Court reasoned that mere
unexplained presence at the still site was insufficient evidence
to support a rational inference of "possession." However, as
the law stands today, a person's mere "unexplained presence"
at a still site can lead to his conviction on the charge of "car-
rying on" an illegal distillation operation. And the courts—
amazingly—have held this to be constitutional. On this issue,
the United States Supreme Court reasoned that anyone at the
still site must have some connection with the illegal operation
—manufacturer, bottler, lookout, consumer, supplier, mech-
anic, janitor—and that this connection, by definition, aids the
business of "carrying on" an illegal distillery. The penalty for
"carrying on" is the same as the penalty for "possession"—
five years. In other words, if you are in or about the still site
when the revenue men arrive, you had better be able to ex-
plain your presence in a way that makes sense, and the bur-
den is on you to come forward with such an explanation.
If you can't, and most people can't, you will undoubtedly face
a "carrying on" charge.
Back a few years ago, when revenue agents moved in on
a still near Bellport, Long Island, they found Julius Caesar
King tinkering with the distillery equipment. Tyson King was
holding a flashlight. Julius was too close to the action for
a viable alibi. Tyson, however, said he was merely "furnishing
company," and there was nothing criminal about that, was
there? Yes, there was, said the court. Tyson was convicted
of "carrying on" an illegal distillation operation.

122
 When revenue agents bust a still, they try to make the
bust when the still is operating in all its glory and all princi-
pals are present and accounted for. In that way, the govern-
ment's problems of proof in court are greatly eased, for, as
explained above, one's mere "unexplained presence" at a still
site subjects him to the charge of "carrying on" an illegal
distillery. On the other hand, if there is a still on your prop-
erty, and you do not know about it—or, more properly put,
you can "prove" that you don't know about it (and the burden
is on you to prove this), you have committed no crime. The
problem is, what twelve randomly selected Americans are go-
ing to believe your story ?
When a revenue agent on the prowl knocked at the North
Carolina home of Fred McKinley Mabe, Mabe was not home.
Once legally on the premises, the revenue agent followed his
well trained nose to a barn some one hundred yards distant
where he found (and not to his surprise) a 250-gallon "sub-
marine still," 23 one-gallon unstamped glass jugs containing
some of the South's finest, and an assortment of sixty-pound
sugar bale wrappers. When the agent returned the following
day, Mabe, who was now in his house, departed with great
haste through a back door, but lost a subsequent footrace
with the law. A less resourceful moonshiner might have called
it quits then and there. Not Mabe. It was time for an impro-
visation, and Mabe came up with one. As he told the court:
he had been a renter on his property for the past three years
(which was true), and during that time he had assumed that
the barn in question was on his neighbor's land. In fact, said
Mabe under oath, in all the time he had been renting there he
had never set foot inside the barn and had no idea what was
in there. Hardly a novel approach to the problem of explain-
ing a "submarine still' in the barn. Yet, reasonable doubt
being what it is, Mabe might have beaten the rap in spite of
his attempted flight from the law had it not been for one fatal
imperfection in his alibi. It seems that the only visible access

123
to the barn was a well-worn path leading directly from the
barn to Mabe's back door. Mabe was convicted of carrying on
a distillery without posting bond, of producing spirits at a
place not designated by law, and of possessing containers with-
out stamps. Each charge carries a five-year prison term.
The would-be moonshiner need not actually reach the
production stage in order to subject himself to criminal sanc-
tions. Once the intent to distill is translated into any prepara-
tory act, a crime has been committed. The Internal Revenue
Code specifically outlaws possession of any "property intend-
ed for use in violating any provision of the distillation laws."
It may be difficult for the government to prove this crime
because intent, being a state of mind, is always difficult to
prove. Yet, if you are found in possession of materials and/or
ingredients for which there is no logical explanation other
than moonshining, you are in trouble, because the intent to
distill can be rationally inferred from strong circumstantial
evidence.
Take the case of Willard and Modis Perry, two southern-
ers with some big plans. In a two-month period in 1966 they
purchased, at retail, from a little country store deep in the
heart of moonshine country, 20,496 glass half-gallon jugs.
Then, while revenue agents watched and waited, a man named
Herbert Hoover Brown, a friend of the Perrys', purchased
13,308 more jugs at the same store. When revenue agents are
on the scent, they normally do not move in until they have
followed the scent right to the still. But this was too much.
After Brown's purchase, agents busted the three men. No
still was ever found, and probably none existed at that point
in time. But the unexplained presence of 33,804 glass half-
gallon jugs in the face of testimony that these jugs were a
moonshiner's special, was sufficient evidence upon which to
convict the three men of the crime of possessing property in-
tended for use in illegal distillation.

124
 Occasionally revenue agents, in their zeal to make ar-
rests, themselves become so deepy enmeshed in the criminal
activity under scrutiny that they pollute any arrests by mak-
ing subsequent convictions legally impossible. If a revenue
agent tries to make a buy from a suspected moonshiner, and
the sale is consummated, the moonshiner can be prosecuted
and convicted. However, if the revenue agent encourages a
would-be moonshiner to set up a still, makes a buy, then
makes a bust, the moonshiner can plead "entrapment" which,
if proved, is a successful defense to the charge of illegal dis-
tillation and sales. The distinction between permissible and
impermissible enforcement conduct is often a difficult one to
make. Occasionally, though, eager revenue agents use tactics
so blatantly impermissible that they themselves emerge as
the culprits.
A case in point occurred in the early 1960's in California,
far from the traditional heart of Moonshine Country. A reve-
nue agent posing as a "syndicate" gangster approached two
fledgling and obviously naive moonshiners with an offer to
make large-quantity buys for thirsty underworld customers.
The moonshiners took the agent to their Oakland home, treat-
ed him to a few drinks and, at a later date, sold him eight
gallons of you-know-what. Largely as a result of intelligence
gathered during this buy, other federal agents moved in on
the Oakland still and busted the two moonshiners. Until this
juncture, all moves by law-enforcement officers were with-
in legal parameters. This distinction began to break down,
however, when the revenue agent who had posed as a syndi-
cate buyer telephoned the two moonshiners prior to their
prison terms and, finding that his "cover" remained unim-
paired, proposed that the three of them do a little business
after prison terms had been served. Which is just what hap-
pened. After the pair emerged from prison, the agent, still
in his guise, renewed his offer to buy all spirits the two men
could produce. There was an agreement to this effect. Produc-

125
tion timetables were agreed upon, and when quotas were not
met, the revenue agent urged the moonshiners on by telling
them, "The boss is on my back." At various times, the reve-
nue agent offered to provide an alternative still site, still
equipment and a "monkey" to run the still. Once, when pro-
duction was flagging, the revenue agent purchased (at gov-
ernment expense, of course) and delivered to the moonshiners
two thousand pounds of sugar. Then, in the final chapter of
this incredible tale, the revenue agent stripped off his mask—
surprise—and busted the two men on an assortment of moon-
shine charges. Needless to say, this was entrapment, and for
this reason subsequent prosecution failed.
Cases like this are the exception. By and large, he who
gets busted for moonshining will do time, pay fines and find
himself victim of a little understood area of the law known
as "forfeiture." This is how it works: if the government finds
a still, in addition to arresting all principals, it can and invari-
ably does seize and destroy all still materials and ingredients.
One might expect this. Also subject to seizure, however, are
all personal property, regardless of ownership, found at the
still site, as well as "all right, title and interest" the distiller
or distillers may have in the real property upon which the
still sits. The land thereby seized is declared forfeited and is
sold at public auction. Further, if the government can prove
that traffic in and out of the still crossed other real properties
whose owners knew where the traffic was going, all those
ingress and egress properties are declared forfeited and sold
at auction.

Does this really happen?

Does this really happen ?
It can. And, at various times, it does. Though moonshine
enforcement is aimed primarily at large-scale commercial pro-
duction, now a fast-fading phenomenon of the Deep South,
the laws can be enforced as well against the man whose only
intent is to distill a few gallons of white lightning for his own
solace and comfort. It is hard to see what legitimate interest
126
the government has in outlawing private distillation of spirits
for private consumption. Certainly there is a fundamental
distinction between distillation of spirits for sales, and distil-
lation of spirits for home consumption. One is a commercial
enterprise historically subject to governmental taxation,
while the other is, or ought to be, an expression totally within
an individual's private jurisdiction. Yet, the government thus
far has refused to acknowledge this distinction. It threatens
alike, with the same heavy hand, the men whose livelihood is
selling taxless moonshine and the man who distills it for non-
commercial purposes. In fact, the intent of the busted distiller
is not considered material in a court of law—which is to say
that from the law's point of view it does not matter what
the distiller planned to do with the booze. The crime is not
distillation for sales, but distillation, period.
If the moonshiner is to find any solace in the laws, as
they now stand, it will be behind the protective veil of the
Fourth Amendment. This frequently invoked provision of the
Constitution provides that a man's home and effects shall be
free from unreasonable searches and seizures. In practical
terms this means that, except on emergency, no government
agent—be he common cop or revenue collection agent—may
enter your home without a search warrant. Search warrants
are issued by neutral magistrates upon probable cause, and
probable cause grows out of hard facts, not mere suspicions.
Failure of government agents to adhere to the letter of the
Fourth Amendment when making a bust effectively renders
any future prosecution impossible because of the rule that no
evidence seized in violation of a person's Fourth Amendment
rights can be introduced in evidence against him.
While procedural sanctuary behind the walls of the
Fourth Amendment has saved many a distiller from the jaws
of the law, and made many a lawyer wealthy in the process,
this defensive remedy is not the answer to the problem of
home distillation of spirits without fear of prison. What is
needed, and what is long overdue, are substantive changes in
those laws which allow the government to intrude its arm
127
128
into private areas to bust persons for crimes which have no
victims. Just as the government has been forced to retreat
from bedrooms, where it once pontificated on who could do
what with whom and in what positions, it can be forced to
retreat from kitchen distilleries. And the reason it can be
forced to retreat is that the laws forbidding personal distil-
lation of booze for personal consumption are hopelessly at
variance with basic constitutional notions of privacy.
The only legitimate interest the federal government has
in the distillation of spirits is in the quality control and taxa-
tion of whiskey produced for sale. Tobacco is subject to the
same excise tax scheme as whiskey, yet anyone can grow his
own tobacco, harvest it, cure it and smoke it without risking
prison. Why should the would-be home distiller be subject to
a different standard? The government's position with respect
to home distillation leads to a legal paradox.
A man may grow his own grapes and from those grapes
may make, through the process of fermentation, and for his
own consumption, two hundred gallons of wine per year. If
the wine made is 15 per cent alcohol—an average— the entire
200-gallon batch will contain, in diluted form, some thirty gal-
lons of 100 per cent alcohol. While it is legally permissible for
the winemaker to possess and/or consume these thirty gallons
of 100 per cent alcohol in its diluted form, it would be a crime
for him to extract, by distillation, the alcohol from the wine.
This leaves the state in the position of saying: 1) it is legal
to create, through fermentation, thirty gallons of 100 per
cent alcohol; 2) it is legal to possess and/or consume these
thirty gallons of 100 per cent alcohol in solution form; but
3) it is illegal to extract the alcohol from the solution; or con-
versely, 4) it is illegal to extract from the 200 gallons the
170 gallons of non-alcoholic liquid.
Do moonshine laws work ?
It's hard to say. Obviously, the severity of the law pro-
vides some measure of deterrence. Yet, laws in this realm have
always been severe, and there has always been moonshining
in spite of them. The king of England was not able to wipe
129
it out, and after almost two centuries of enforcement, the Unit-
ed States government has been unable to wipe it out.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms reports
that moonshining in the mid-1970's is a vastly reduced prob-
lem from what it was in the past. Which is to say that revenue
agents on moonshine duty are making fewer busts these days.
Perhaps this means fewer illegal stills, perhaps not. What
does seem clear, however, is that large-scale moonshine oper-
ations are on the decline, and for a number of reasons. The
bureau attributes the supposed decline to enforcement's tech-
nological advantage. Nowadays, revenue agents have at their
disposal highly sophisticated equipment, specially trained dogs
and airplanes equipped with sensitive heat-detection devices.
These devices are such that, in scanning the topography, they
can pick up temperature increases of the kind normally associ-
ated with large distillation processes, and they can pinpoint
the spot from which these heat emissions are released.
Another fashionable explanation for the supposed decline
in moonshining is economic—specifically, the inflationary in-
creases in the prices of materials and ingredients necessary
to produce spirits. As the prices of copper and sugar sky-
rocket, the price of a fifth of whiskey is bound to increase.
The legitimate industry, because of its broader base, greater
purchasing power and the advantage it has of being able to
operate openly, is better able to keep prices down in the face
of rising costs. Or so the theory goes. And, as the price of a
fifth of mountain dew approaches the price of a fifth of legal
spirits, moonshine sales are bound to decrease. On the other
hand, as history has amply demonstrated, as long as the
government imposes a tax on distilled spirits, there will be
those—in their barns, in their kitchens and in their mountain
hideaways—who will not pay.
And so the game goes on.

130
131
132
 RECIPES
Corn whiskey has often been considered something of an
outdoors drink, taken from the jug, glass or food jar. Even
when drunk in a cozy cabin by the fireplace or potbellied stove
it would probably be safe to say that most of the squirrel likker
made in America has been drunk unmixed, undiluted, straight.
But don't think for a minute that White Lightnin' ain't good in
a mixed drink. For those who like a little variety, a cocktail or a
highball now and then you'll be pleased to know, if you didn't
already, that corn whiskey might be considered one of the most
versatile alcoholic beverages available. Its clarity and the subtle-
ness of its flavor make it an ideal base for a great many mixed
drinks. Some drinks, of course, are better than others simply
because of the gentle reactions that might result from mixing
certain flavors. Such things are, after all, largely matters of
individual taste, so in contemplating what to serve your friends,
you're on your own. As with the preparation of your mash,
you may feel free to experiment, to explore the infinite pos-
sibilities of surprising yourself and your drink partners.
To make matters a bit simpler for you in the beginning,
we'll give you a good assortment of recipes for cocktails, high-
balls and other mixed drinks, all of which have shown them-
selves to be as tasty as anything you can get in one of them
high-tone city saloons.

133
 These are some recipes we've enjoyed in our own homes. To
our way of thinking, some of them actually improve the drinks
made with the traditional alcohol base. But, then again, that's
a matter of personal taste.
As a rule of thumb we've found that Moonshines versatility
is nearly as broad as that of vodka or rum. But, being a
whiskey, it will also do something that the others can't do. Try
some of these. You'll like 'em. We think you'll agree.
Just one more thing. Any good bartender will tell you that
any mixed drink should contain no less than fifty percent of
your alcohol base. Needless to say Moonshine can be mixed
with almost any conventional drink mix, and even goes very
well with some fruit juices. For some of the recipes given, you'll
need a sugar syrup. An easy way to make your's is to boil one
part creek water with one part sugar for five minutes. Pour it in
a bottle and keep it refrigerated when you're not mixing drinks.
These recipes make about four drinks, unless otherwise
noted.

BEAR TRAP POLECAT PUNCH

Shake, using 3/4 cup cracked ice:
1 jigger sugar syrup
2 jiggers lemon or lime juice
5 jiggers pure corn likker
Strain into chilled cocktail glasses.
PLOW BOY
Stir well, using 3/4 cup cracked ice:
1 jigger dry vermooth
1 jigger sweet vermooth
6 jiggers Moonshine
Add to each drink:
1 dash orange bitters
Serve-with hazelnut in bottom of glass.
1 quart Moonshine
1 and 1/2 quarts orange juice
1 quart ginger ale
1/2 pint cherry soda
Makes 37 servings, 3 ozs. each.
MOUNTAIN MAGGIE
Stir well with 3/4 cup cracked ice:
5 jiggers of panther juice (shine)
2 and 1/2 jiggers lemon or lime juice.
1/2 jigger tripple sec
Pour into cocktail glasses, the rims of
which have been rubbed with citrus
lime and then spun in salt.

134
BLUERIDGE SKYLINE MINT JULEP (One serving)
COCKTAIL
Stir well with ice cubes: (100 year old recipe)
1 to 2 jiggers dry vermooth Use only tender mint leaves for bruis-
6 to 7 jiggers corn whiskey ing, and only finely shaved or crushed
Add to each drink: ice.
1 dash Angostura Bitters Chill a very tall glass or silver mug.
A twist of lemon peel Wash and partially dry:
A long sprig of fresh mint
BLOODY REVENUER And dip it in:
Powdered sugar
Shake well or blend into 8/4 cup Combine in a bar glass:
crushed ice: 2 tsp. sugar syrup
3 jiggers Moonshine 6 medium sized mint leaves
1 cup chilled tomato juice 1 dash Angostura Bitters
1 tsp. lemon juice Bruise leaves gently with muddler and
1 tsp. Worstershire Sauce blend all ingredients by stirring gently.
2 drops hot pepper sauce Pour into bar glass:
1/4 tsp. celery salt 1 jigger pure corn likker
Stir again.
Pinch of garlic salt Take chilled glass, pack it with ice,
Serve, without straining, into lowball strain the above mixture into chilled
glasses. glass. Churn ice up and down gently
adding ice to within 3/4 from top.
GRANDMAMMIES RECIPE Add:
1 Pony Moonshine (1 oz.)
Shake with 3/4 cup cracked ice: Churn until glass is frosted. Add the
1/2 jigger raspberry syrup sprig of mint. Stick a long straw in it
1/2 jigger pineapple syrup and start suckin'!
1 and 1/2 jiggers lemon juice
5 and 1/2 jiggers corn likker MOONSHINER'S DAUGHTER
Strain into chilled cocktail glasses and
serve with a twist of orange peel. Shake, using 3/4 cup crushed ice:
1/2 jigger grenadine
MULE'S ASS (One serving) 1 jigger lemon or lime juice
1 jigger apple brandy
1 jigger white mule (shine) 2 egg whites
4 and 1/2 jiggers Moonshine
2 ice cubes Strain into chilled cocktail glasses.
Fill a 6 oz. glass with ginger ale. Add a Stir. Decorate with a twist of lemon
spiral of lemon peel over the rim of peel, a thin slice of orange and a
the glass. maraschino cherry.
Serve with a muddler.

135
 OLD-TIMER (One serving)
Put into an old fashioned glass and stir:
1/2 tsp. sugar syrup
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
1 tsp. creek water
Add:
2 ice cubes
Fill glass to within 1/2 inch of top with:
Moonshine
Stir. Decorate with a twist of lemon
peel, a thin slice of orange
and a maraschino cherry.
Serve with a muddler.
COUNTRY PARSON
Shake with 3/4 cup cracked ice:
1/2 jigger sugar syrup
1 and 1/2 jiggers lime juice
2 jiggers apricot brandy
4 jiggers white lightnin'
Strain into chilled cocktail glasses.
TURKEY COOLER
(One serving)
Put 4 ice cubes in a very tall glass.
Add:
1 tbsp. sugar syrup
juice of 1 lemon
Fill glasses with:
Carbonated water
Stir and serve without delay.
TENNESSEE WALKIN' HORSE
Shake with 3/4 cup cracked ice:
1 and 1/2 jiggers lime juice
1 and 1/2 jiggers Benedictine
3 and 1/2 jiggers stump juice
Strain into chilled cocktail glasses.
LOG CABIN HAPPINESS
(One serving)
Combine in a 2 oz. glass:
Juice of 1 lemon or lime
1 tbsp. pure maple syrup
1 jigger corn likker
2 dashes grenadine
Fill glass with crushed ice to within
3/4 of an inch of the top.
Add:
BLOCKADE WAGON
Shake with 3/4 cup cracked ice:
jigger Cointreau
1 and 1/2 jiggers lemon juice
6 jiggers white wheel (shine)
Strain into chilled cocktail glasses and
serve with a twist of lemon peel.
Add:
1 Pony Moonshine (1 oz.)
Churn. Drink through straw.
Add:
Pineapple strip
Slice of orange
Cherry

136
 GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Bead
Refers to the uniform, "string of pearl"-like bubbles,
which cling to the sides of the proof vile as described in chap-
ter 5 (The Run) under Proof and Purity Test No. 5 on
page 80
Beer
This term in the language of moonshine refers to the
fermented mash when it is ready to run, or to the mash in
general. See chapter No. 4 on the mash.
Blockader
An Appalachian term for moonshiner holding over from
revolutionary days. Originally called such because the illegal
whiskey had to run the blockade of revenooers. "Blockade lik-
ker" is one of the many versatile and varied names given to
the infinitely infamous moonshine.
Blue Vitriols
Crystaline cupric sulphate. A substance formed when
copper (usually the condenser) is not cleaned properly after
a run. Can be seen as tiny blue metallic flakes in your whis-
key. Highly toxic when taken internally and one of the biggest
causes of ailments related to "bathtub whiskey." Chapter No.
5 under Clean Up, page 84
Boiling
The action of the mash as it ferments, producing bubbles
137
 Booze
If you haven't figured that out yet, you can probably for-
get it. See chapter 8 - Spirits - under Egypt, page 109
Brandy
Alcoholic beverages distilled from a fruit base, or more
specifically, spirits made from grapes.
Cap
The cap is the "head" of the still and directs the vapor-
ized alcohol into the connecting tube and on through the sys-
tem. See chapter No. 3 (The Still) under the Cap on page 38
Clouded
The milky color of a bad batch.
Condenser
The part of the still in which the vaporized alcohol is
coiled, returning the firey stuff into liquid once again, explain-
ed in detail in chapter No. 3 on the still under the condenser
on page 40
Connecting Tubes
Are the sections of copper tubing, either attached to
their respective still parts or, with fittings, to connect the
various parts of the still and serve as a passageway for the
pressurized vapors throughout the system.

Cookin'
The process of running the still, from application of heat
to the still pot through vaporization, condensation and catch-
ing of the Balm of Gilead.

138
 Copper Pot
Most generally used to describe the type of still used in
the backwoods in its simplest and purest form, which consists
of a heating system, copper pot (or kettle), cap, connecting
tube, and the condenser. More specifically referring to the pot
itself which is of course covered in detail in chapter No. 3
under the Kettle on page 36
Distill
To remove the alcohol from a mixture containing it by
evaporation. See chapter No. 2 under Principles of Distillation
on page 23
Distillery
Obviously a place where distillation takes place.
Doubling
Is the second step of the actual distillation process and
is accomplished by simply runnin' the freshly distilled spirits
through the still in the same manner as the first run. Also
called Second Run or doubled and twisted, guaranteed to
twist yo' head. Doublin is covered in chapter No. 5 on the
Run under Reruns or Doublin on page 80
Ethanol
Drinking alcohol.
Ferment
The natural chemical reaction of yeast converting sugar
in various forms to alcohol. See chapter two under Principles
of distillation on page 23 , and chapter No. 4 under Fermenta-
tion on page 58.
Fire Box
See heating system.
Flake Box
See condenser. 139
 Fusel Oils
Mainly a mixture of amy! alcohols, they are a byproduct
of the fermentation process, a most undesirable thing to have
in your whiskey. It can be distilled out with a little care and
precise temperature control and is responsible for the dreaded
"popskull."
Gauger
The old name for a revenoo agent, as the gauger would
estimate the proof and quantity of a discovered batch of lik-
ker and likewise estimate the taxes due. A definitely undesir-
able occupation indeed.
Grain Alcohol
Usually connoting an undiluted form of "green" spirits
derived from a grain based mash.
Green Whiskey
Means first run alcohol before it is aged, filtered, or
adulterated.
Groundhog Still
Refers to a still which is permanently buried in a hill-
side and uses the flame and heat leaving the firebox which
wraps around the sides of the still. See chapter No. 3 on still
building under heating system, page 42
Hooch
See moonshine.
Hydrometer
A thermometer-like instrument which measures the vol-
ume of alcohol in a liquid such as mash. See page
Jigger
Most often a slang term for an ounce of booze.
140
 Makin'
Involved in the process of extracting ethanol from natu-
rally entropic material, usually plants.
Malt
A sprouted grain, usually barley, which is dried and then
ground to a granular texture which converts the insoluble
starches into soluble sugar (the basis of old school moon-
shining) . See chapter No. 4 on the Mash under Corn on page 52
Malted Corn
Describes corn which has been malted as mentioned in
chapter No. 4 on the Mash under the Corn on page 52
Mash
The volume of liquid prepared by fermentation to con-
tain a percentage of alcohol which is then distilled to produce
liquor. The mash is covered in all its flaming glory in chapter-
No. 4, more commonly known as the Mash chapter.
Mash Box
Box constructed for the frementation of mash.
Monkey
A hired hand which loads bananas into the still. You
must remember to never try to chiquita an honest man. A
monkey is also a hired hand who would run the operation
back when whiskey makin' was in the profitably prohibitional
days.
Old School
Referring here to the method of making whiskey using
sprouted grain as opposed to sugar.
Played Out Mash
Referring to sour Mash or the liquid remaining after the
whiskey has been removed from the mash. See sour mash.
141
 Popskull
A term describing the headache accompanying the defec-
tively manufactured spirits.
Proof
Is twice the actual percentage of alcohol contained in a
volume of liquid.
Proof Vial
A small clear glass bottle of approx. one ounce capacity
used to determine the proof of a particular test sample.
Puke
Describes the head of the cooking mash boiling over in-
to the connecting tubes or other parts of the still thus clouding
the run.
Reruns
Doublin'.
Run
Makin', operating the still, runnin' off a batch.
Slag Box
A waystation for alcohol vapors in which they are free
to dispense with excess baggage; a compartment between the
still pot and the condenser coi] where the impurities are
trapped, and the ethanol passes on toward the condenser.
Sour Mash
The mash left in the pot after most of the alcohol has
been removed from it by distilling.
Sour Mash Whiskey
Whiskey distilled from mash which is made by substi-
tuting sour mash for water. 142
 Sprouting
To take a seed (grain) and add warm water for 24 hours,
then to rinse until the grain starts to grow.

Starter
The mixture of yeast and sugar added to the rest of the
ingredients in the mash to begin fermentation.
Teedum Barrel
Small aging barrel used to harbor the family stash, the
cream of the still catchin's.
Thumper
Purifying device for whiskey, used in larger stills for
multiple runs. An elaborate slag box.

Working
The mash as it ferments.
Worm
The copper tube in the condenser, sometimes referring
to the flake box in whole.

143